The Lord of Light
by Darth Marrs
Summary: Where the hell is Harry now? Third in the Harem Series begun by HP and the Four Founders and continued in Forever Mage. How will Darth Vader and the Emperor deal with a wizard born long ago in a galaxy far, far away?
1. The Forever Mage

**The Lord of Light**

Another Fanfic by Darth Marrs

Author's Note: This is another sequel of sorts to my story Harry Potter and the Four Founders. Like _Forever Mage_, it is a sequel only in the sense that the events of HP&FF and _Forever Mage_ form the cannon history I will use with Harry's past. The plot device used at the end of HP&FF is also the means by which I introduce Harry into the SW universe. That means that there will be a polygamous relationship in this story, and lots of space sex. If you did not like either of the previous fics, you probably won't like this one either. If you are a Han Solo/Leia shipper, you most definitely will not like this story. It also bears some similarity to Four Founders in that it has humorous elements in the beginning, but does become more dramatic and serious as the story progresses. You've been warned.

In order for this story to work for you, I must ask for a certain willing suspension of disbelief. So please ignore the opening lines of all the Star Wars movies that say: "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…." The story takes place approximately one year before the events in Star Wars: A New Hope (1 BBY in Warsies Parlance). Luke and Leia are both 18.

Edit 11/11/2011-While the word count may be quite large, please keep it in mind that in addition to the official edition of this story, I have also included a completely separate version as bonus chapters at the end. So the actual word count is closer to 140,000 than the number you see.

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**Chapter One: The Forever Mage**

Pain.

He always woke to pain. The first time, the pain shattered his soul with echoes of death and rebirth. Agony at a cellular level penetrated his whole existence and drove him to the edge of sanity before the cool, healing touches of his wives calmed it.

The second was no better than the first. The pain was laced with broken memories of failure and loss. The third and fourth times were slightly better—the memories were of love and life, and the healing touch calmed the agony of the rebirth.

Others followed, one after the other. Hundreds. Thousands. Tens of thousands, until the last one. That last rebirth was not just painted in agony, but also in desperation and need. Everything was ending. The gods themselves had declared war, and they called on him not just to fight those gods, but to hold off the end of existence itself. By then they were so different from him, and yet he could still feel the magic within them.

And now…he opened his eyes for the first time. He should have felt the anchoring bonds of the five who summoned him. He rarely retained memories from those first few minutes after the rebirthing, but he did retain half-remembered glimpses of five beautiful women with dark hair, dark eyes, and low, alluring voices calling out to his power. He remembered the feeling of new bonds forming to anchor him into this new life and strengthen him, but then all the anchors were abruptly, brutally cut. It was the last he remembered—the feeling of his bonds being severed. The women who revived him were dead, why wasn't he?

When he sat up, he found himself on a featureless white table in the center of a featureless white room. The table surface was soft and antiseptic. He felt a twinge in his arm and looked down to see a tube sticking out of his arm. He pulled it out without a thought—whatever they were pumping into him was doing nothing to help. He felt weak and disoriented, much more than he should have. Again, he knew this was because of his bonds being severed so soon after his rebirthing.

He looked around him and saw that the only occupant of the room beside himself was a robot of sorts on wheels. He stood gingerly and held onto the table for a moment to regain his balance before stepping toward the robot.

"Do you have speech capability?" the young man with messy black hair and green eyes asked.

"Yes, sir," the robot said in a calm, older woman's voice.

"What language am I speaking?"

"Galactic Basic, sir."

He pondered that for a moment. "There were five women when I first woke. Do you know what became of them?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I do not know."

"What is your designation?"

"M-D7D."

"I'll call you DeeDee, then."

"As you wish, sir."

"What are your orders?"

"To keep you sedated, sir."

The young man snorted, and then leaned more weight against the table in an effort not to collapse. "How is that working out for you?"

"Obviously not well, sir. Your body metabolized the anesthetizing agents with greater and greater efficiency until they ceased to be effective. However, my sensors indicate you are in physical distress."

"Yeah, noticed that myself. How long have I been out?"

"It has been three standard days since you arrived, sir."

He nodded and looked around the room. "I'm assuming I'm being watched?"

"That would be a safe assumption, sir."

"Can you tell me where I am?"

"Unfortunately no, sir."

"How 'bout what planet?"

"You are on Imperial Center, sir."

"That doesn't mean much to me, DeeDee. Can you give me some context?"

"This planet was previously known as Coruscant. Prior to that it was known as Notron. It is and has been the political hub of the galaxy for many millennia. Currently it is the capital world of the Galactic Empire. It is the sixth planet of the Coruscant System, a system that contains eleven worlds. Coruscant itself has four moons and eight large Orbital Solar Energy Transfer Satellites whose primary function is to keep the world warm enough to be habitable. Current population is estimated to be at or near one trillion beings."

He blinked and stared at the droid. "One trillion? Wow. So, why am I here?"

"I do not know, sir."

"How 'bout food? Am I allowed to eat?"

A slit in one featureless white wall opened to expose a tray of steaming food. He didn't recognize anything on the tray and the smells were odd, but he was hungry enough to try anything. He was pleased to find a three-tined fork on the tray, along with a tumbler of water.

"Thanks," he said as he placed the tray on the bed he woke up on. He stood and ate the food eagerly. "Strange stuff, but it tastes good enough." He paused on one bite, then shrugged and continued eating. "I don't know what type of drug they put into the purple stuff, but you can let your bosses know that it won't do anything to me."

"I will, sir," the robot said.

He finished eating and replaced the tray in the slit. "So, am I going to have to shit in a corner or are there facilities?"

Another corner of the wall spun on a central access, exposing a white bowl. "Some things are universal," the young man said with a laugh.

He took care of business and noticed that instead of toilet paper, the bowl actually shot an intense spray of a sanitizing agent that, upon evaporating in a second after contact, left him feeling as clean and dry as if he'd just toweled off after a shower. He stood and looked down at the bowl in admiration. "Okay, that was pretty cool. M' bums so clean I bet even my farts would smell good."

"I do not have olfactory sensors, sir," the robot said. "However I am sure you are right."

The boy laughed. "I like you, DeeDee. What kind of robot are you?"

"I am an autonomous medical droid, sir. I am programmed to provide complete medical and surgical care for most known humanoid species."

"Interesting." The boy moved back to the table and sat down. "And what did your complete and surgical care programming tell you about me?"

"You are an anomaly, sir."

"Oh?" The young man slowly pulled himself up on the table and laid down. He fought hard to ignore the trembling in his extremities the effort caused. "Tell me about it? What marks me as different from other humans?"

DeeDee whirled about, as if seeking permission to answer. "You have been officially logged as near human, Species Unknown."

"The last classification I am aware of would be Magus," the young man said.

"I am unfamiliar with that species."

"Not any more."

"Indeed. Our records have been updated to classify your species as Magus. What should I classify as your home world?"

"Most recently?" the young man said.

"Home world is classified as the major population center or origin point of a species."

"Well, by major population our home world would be Caldos. The last I saw of it, Caldos was the sixth planet of its System of eleven planets and had four moons."

The droid whirred again. "That is interesting. From those facts you appear to be implying that Caldos is Imperial Center. However I have never heard the term Caldos used for Imperial Center."

"Probably before your time."

"I have access to historical records going back over two hundred thousand years."

The young man shrugged. "So, what else makes me different?"

"My scan discovered a structure within the limbic system of your brain that is similar but not identical to the sensory nub of a Miraluka, or a similar organ found in Kiffars. Both these species are highly Force sensitive and have an organically produced extrasensory perception. Based on the size and structure of this organ, I believe it is a safe assumption that you too have an extra-sensory perception of some kind."

"I do see dead people occasionally," the young man admitted with a wry smile the droid did not understand

"I shall log it accordingly," DeeDee said. "Your genetic structure is also unique. You have a zero midi-chlorian count."

"Is this a problem?"

"All living species in this galaxy have at least some midi-chlorians."

"And what are middle-chlorines?"

"Midi-chlorians are microscopic single-celled life forms living in a symbiotic relationship within the blood cells of almost all life forms. There have been theories put forth that midi-chlorians are actually intelligent in sufficient numbers. Those individuals with sufficiently high midi-chlorian counts can access a mystical energy field known collectively as The Force."

"Fascinating," the boy said, and he truly sounded fascinated. "So all life in this galaxy has these little middle-chlorine thingies, and some folks can access THE FORCE. What does THE FORCE allow people to do?"

"The Force allows those sufficiently versed in its ways to perform feats of physical speed and stamina outside normal physical possibility. Some individuals are capable of telekinesis, telepathy, divination and other feats outside of explainable science."

"That's pretty neat," the boy said. "So, since I don't have middle-chlorines I can't access THE FORCE?"

"Well, sir, that is part of the anomaly. Though you do not possess midi-chlorians in your cells, the DNA found in your mitochondria…"

"Wait a minute, is there a reason why the words mitochondria and midi-chlorians sound so much alike?"

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence, sir. However, as I was saying the structure of your DNA actually has a strand of base pairs that is identical to the DNA found within midi-chlorians. To an observer, it appears as if your cells have actually incorporated the midi-chlorian DNA sequence into your own DNA."

"Interesting," the young man said. "Is it also possible that maybe the midi-chlorians were artificially engineered using my DNA in order to help facilitate the development of life in this galaxy?"

"Because of the time frames involved, sir, that is highly unlikely."

"Of course. So, let's talk about me some more. It's always my favorite subject. What else about me makes your little robot mind boggle?"

"You are producing an energy field of an unknown wavelength."

"Actually, it's not that unknown. Do you have examples of Force Energy?"

"Not on record."

"Hmmm, just a thought. In my time it was known as anaphasic energy."

"I am not familiar with that term.'

"You wouldn't be. It's lethal to most life forms, unless of course that life form was seeded with midi-chlorians."

"I see."

The young man snorted. "So robots can lie?"

"Not outright," the droid said, "however, our programming does generally allow us to use inane and non-committal phrases for social purposes."

"Good droid," the young man approved. "I do the same thing around people all the time. So how long am I supposed to wait here before I get bored?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I do not know."

As soon as the droid finished speaking, one wall slid open. The boy sat up slowly on the table and looked on in interest as two men in brilliant red armor and helmets stepped into the room, followed by an attractive blonde woman with sparking blue eyes. She wore a tight black one-piece that probably hugged her body perfectly, though he could only guess through the loose black robes she wore over it. He did note a rather large, gratuitous diamond-shaped cutout in the middle of the suit's chest that provided an ample display of her equally ample cleavage.

A third crimson-clad man followed with a large metal chair. He placed the chair in the center of the floor between the table and the wall, and the three crimson-armored men left.

The woman smiled brilliantly and sat down. She slowly crossed her long, black-clad legs and pulled out some type of electronic data pad and placed it atop her crossed legs. She then leaned forward in such a way as to move the diamond-shaped window to her chest to show almost all of one breast almost to the areola. "Hello," she said.

"Well hi!" the young man said brightly. "Nice shirt. Feels like it's been a million years since I admired such a nice set of breasts."

"Thank you," the woman said without a hint of embarrassment. She seemed to have a twinkle in her eye, and wore an odd black-handled cylinder at her waist. He noticed how the fabric folded enticingly at the hips. "My name is Drayneen. I've been asked to speak to you."

"And such a terrible chore that must have been. You have my sympathies."

"So charming," the woman said with a wide smile. "I'm afraid we don't know exactly what happened. When we arrived at the dig, we found you in an unconscious state, fully nude, surrounded by several bodies. It doesn't appear you were hurt, but you were delirious and convulsing when we sedated you. Can you tell me what happened?"

The boy cocked his head to one side, staring at her. "I don't know," he said. "I don't have a good memory of that time."

"I see. Do you know who you are?"

"Do you?"

Her smile widened, but she shook her head. "Sadly, no. We've done as many searches as we can and we have no record of you. May I ask, what is your name?"

"Harry."

"Harry. An unusual name."

"When I was born, it was exceedingly common."

"And when were your born? And where?"

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."

The smile faltered. "What do you mean by that?"

"It means I was born a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."

"Can you give me details?"

"I could, yes."

The two sat in silence for a moment, staring at each other. Eventually, she smiled again and moved so that the diamond moved to the other breast. It was obvious from Harry's perspective that she was not wearing any type of support. Perhaps there were no bras in space in this galaxy.

He didn't mind that at all.

"So, you could tell me, but you choose not to?"

She was smart. "Yep."

"Your conversation with the medical droid was very interesting."

"It's rude to eavesdrop."

"We were simply trying to learn more about you in order to help. You told the droid that you were born on a world called Caldos, which you say is Imperial Center? There are written records going back over a twenty-five thousand years, and this world has never been known as Caldos."

"Like I said, before your time. But to clarify, I wasn't born on Caldos. It was simply the largest population center of my kind. That was before your time, though."

"Mr. Harry, exactly how old are you claiming to be?"

"The question is actually kind of meaningless, don't you think?" Harry asked. "I mean, when you think about it, time is a matter of human measurement of the immeasurable in order to understand changes to ourselves in comparison to the immutable. Time measurement without context is completely without meaning. My definition of a year, for instance, was determined by the orbital period of a world that I watched an angry god blow up long ago. And yet we kept using that definition despite moving to a world with a different orbital period. So if I tell you I've experienced hundreds of thousands years in many tens of thousands of lives in two galaxies spread over eons, what does that actually mean in comparison to your understanding of time? How do you know my year is comparable to yours? How do you know that any measurement of time as I know it compares to yours? Two hundred thousand years may be a perfectly normal human lifespan to you."

Drayneen stared at him with an open jaw. She unconsciously squeezed her arms closer to her chest, providing Harry a wonderful view of one dark pink nipple and an equally enticing white curve of the other breast. "It is hard to imagine even in comparison to our measure of time that those numbers would not be significant," she said. "You say lifetimes? Do you believe in reincarnation?"

"No, nothing so mythical. I live, I grow old, I die. My soul moves onto another plane of existence where I am happy with my wives. Then some idiot gathers five new wives who circle around my horcrux and pull me kicking and screaming back into a new, magically generated body. And they pretty much only do it when everything is on the brink of disaster. Except that one period when random groups of randy witches just wanted to see if my reputation as a sex god was legitimate. I became the figurehead of a fertility cult that eventually became a major religion with trillions of followers. Pretty damned embarrassing, let me tell you, when people worship giant statues of a man's penis. However, the galaxy saw an untold population spike which was good since it followed a genocidal galactic war that killed trillions."

Drayneen stared with apparent fascination. "Truly amazing," she whispered. "You're telling me that you are essentially immortal?"

"Not really immortal per se. I can get sick and die—though as I get revived again and again it gets harder to kill me prematurely. I'll get old and eventually die. Usually around the same time as whichever group of women become my wives die. My last group was barely recognizable as the same species as me. Yet their power still responded and the bonds formed. Course, by then our genetic drift was such that we couldn't actually produce children, but we sure did enjoy pretending we could."

"What else can you tell me, Harry?" she whispered alluringly. "What can you show me?"

She managed to adjust her chest once again, squeezing her breasts together until he could glimpses of both nipples. He began to wonder if strange energy beams or projectiles were going to come shooting out of them. It would explain why she was so eager to show him her assets.

Or, more likely, it was because she had power. It wasn't very strong, but the power was there nonetheless. She was responding to the pull of his own power just as witches had responded since he was sixteen years old and came into his true magic. If he truly opened up his bonds and latched on to her, he had no doubt she would throw her clothes off right there and begin to shag him until she screamed.

Except… "Let's sum up, shall we?" he said. "I know I'm on a world called Imperial Center, previously Coruscant, previously Notron, previously called Caldos. I know you use robots called droids to handle medical issues. I also know you're lying about how I was found. I also see that you are a cold, amoral murderous bitch who would gladly suck my dick and then cut my throat without a second's hesitation, so let's dispense with the pleasantries and get down to business. Why am I here?"

Drayneen reared back as if slapped, and he could feel her power snapping back into her body as he rejected her on both a physical, psychological and magical level. Her lower lip trembled for just a moment with real pain. Harry did not enjoy it, but also saw no other way to deal with it. The woman's darkness hung like a shroud around her.

Finally the pain sank down below a cold, business like mask. "Very well," she said in a voice that could freeze lava. "If you wish to be unpleasant, we can certainly oblige."

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SP

SP

**One Last Note:**

Posting should be weekly when I can pull it off. Thank you for reading!


	2. A Cold, Dark Codpiece

I was completely blown away by the number of reviews. Responses are available on my forums.

Posting will be weekly on Sundays when time allows until the story is complete. Thank you all for reading!

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**Chapter Two: A Cold, Dark Codpiece**

Drayneen leaned back and straightened her top. The breasts she used as weapons magically moved back into their normal positions as she straightened in her seat. He strongly suspected this woman was a skilled interrogator of men, but would be next to useless against most women.

Luna Lovegood would have had Dayneen wrapped around her little finger. And probably would have been kissing her the entire time she did so.

"It is unfortunate that you chose to go down this path, Mr. Harry. I was fully prepared to make the next phase of your life very pleasurable. But that does not seem as likely."

"Sweetie, I've had some the most beautiful women in two galaxies as my wives. You have nothing that I haven't seen in greater quantity and quality."

For the very first time, the woman actually blushed, and it was not with embarrassment. "You are here," she said with a clipped accent, "because the Emperor believes you are a Celestial. He believes that you hold great power that could aid in his many causes. He also believes that your offspring could be useful members of his Empire."

"Offspring? Is he planning on breeding me like stock, then?"

"Yes," she said. Her voice softened as she thought of what could have been. "As I said, I was prepared to make the choice a pleasurable one. I have been told I am an attractive woman and I am trained in the ways of The Force. I could give you incredible pleasure. The alternative is that your seed is artificially harvested, which I know for a fact is less enjoyable."

"And how do you feel about being used as a breeding cow?"

Though Drayneen obviously did not know what a cow was, the context was clear enough. "I serve at my Emperor's pleasure."

"Yeah, I bet you do. The bastard would probably watch, too. And while I could probably leave you a quivering mass of raw nerves from the insane shagging we could do, frankly you're not all that interesting to me. You're a sweet looking woman, but you're rotten inside, Drayneen. The darkness in you makes you ugly in my eyes."

"You speak as if you have a choice in this, Mr. Harry."

"And you speak as if you could force me to do something against my will," Harry said. He had remained on the table during the whole conversation, fighting not to let his extremities tremble. He was weaker than he had been at any time since before he came into his true power, but he would not tell them that. "I've saved galaxies. I've destroyed armies. I've defeated dark lords and tyrants alike. I fought against a race of gods that had existed since the beginning of the universe. So rest assured idle threats don't mean much."

Drayneen stood, trembling in rage. "Then I hope you enjoy starving, Mr. Harry."

She strode stiff-legged toward hidden door and moments later was gone. Harry turned to DeeDee. "That didn't go so good, did it?"

"It did not appear so, sir. I did note a marked increase in her endorphin and adrenaline production, as well as an increase in her pheromone count."

"In other words, she was horny."

"I'm did not detect any external projections that would indicate the presence of horns. She is a baseline human and would not have such appendages."

"That was a slang term for deeply sexually aroused."

"I see. Yes, that is correct. Madam Drayneen was sexually aroused. The intentional exposure of her mammary glands indicates a willingness and desire to mate with you. My studies would indicate that most males would accept such an offer without hesitation. Why did you not engage her in intercourse?"

"In the world of my youth, there was an insect named a Black Widow who ate the male immediately after mating."

"I do not believe she would attempt to consume you, sir."

"Maybe. Didn't want to risk it."

A moment later the door opened and a wall of black stepped into the room. The figure was covered in black armor with a few odd control plates on his chest and belt. He wore a floor-length cape, and his face was completely covered by a wicked-looking black helmet and mask.

"That is the coolest evil outfit I have ever seen," Harry said with genuine admiration.

The figure paused a moment, clearly confused. "You will come with me," he said in a rumbling mechanical basso.

"You even have the cool evil voice," Harry said. "Awesome. Say something for me. Can I get a mask like that?"

"No."

"Okay. Say, why does your breathing sound so weird? You have asthma?"

"My lungs were burned beyond repair."

Harry shrugged. "Hmm, why not just regrow them then?"

"That is beyond our medical capabilities," the imposing figure said.

"Well then, you're people aren't all that smart now, are they?" Harry said. "I could get your lungs repaired in a day."

The figure paused. "You will be silent," he snarled. "And respectful."

"Sure, okay."

"Follow me now," the dark figure said.

Harry made a show of hopping off the table, though it took almost all his strength to keep his knees from buckling. He followed after the huge black-clad figure, walking at a sedate pace not to annoy, but to conserve what energy he had.

He was desperately missing those bonds. The thought of the young women behind them being gunned down added rage to power the effort it took to walk on his own.

They passed through several featureless gray halls. Everything was in angles, Harry noticed, wondering why bad guys always lived in places with angular halls. What ever happened to good old squared joints?

Finally they emerged into a chamber easily large enough to hold a quidditch pitch. The dark marble floor was smooth and polished to a reflective glow. Overhead huge chandeliers cast a warm white light over everything. On the far side of the room, in the center of a raised dais, Harry saw an over-sized throne surrounded by twenty of the red-clad figures he saw earlier with the hot but unbalanced Drayneen. Just to the left of the throne stood a cloaked figure that Harry knew instinctively was female. Not just female, but another female with power. He wondered how many middle-chlorines she had.

The figure on the throne itself was the first thing he'd encountered so far that gave Harry pause. The ancient figure radiated black power greater than even Voldemort or that genetically engineered Vorta-Romulan hybrid the resurgent Founders threw at him during his fourth life.

"Lord Vader, I see you have brought the boy," the old man said.

Harry stopped outright, causing Vader to continue to step past him. "What a sec, your name is Vader?"

"I am Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith," the bulking monstrosity said with great pride and menace.

Harry snorted. "Okay, then. I am Darth Dumbass, Dark Lord of Pithy Comments."

"You mock me?" Vader roared, one hand going for the cylinder on his belt.

"Your name is Darth Vader, you're wearing a blatant bad-guy mask and a cape. A ruddy cape, for Merlin's sake. Who wears capes? Come on! You're like a walking, talking stereotype. And is that a codpiece? Are you actually covering up your manly bits with a codpiece? Gods above, man, how can I not mock you?"

"Enough!" the old man on the throne said. "Lord Vader, attend me."

"Yes, My Master," Vader said with a bow. Vader turned away from Harry and assumed a position opposite the cloaked girl by the Emperor—for this had to be the Emperor.

"You are confident, young man," the Emperor noted.

"You really think I'm a young man?" Harry snorted. "I was vanquishing dark lords before your ten-times great grandfather was born."

"Yet you behave with the arrogance and petulance of a child," the old man said.

Harry shrugged. "Hormones. It happens every time. No matter how old the soul, the body is young. Biology has its own influences. Want to see an example?"

During Harry's sixth lifetime, his wives were compelled against their will to perform the ceremony on Caldos. Though the sheer joy of the bond eventually convinced them, for the first few weeks all six of them were miserable—the women for being forced by the Wizengamot to summon him and bind themselves to him—and himself for feeling guilt at needing those bonds to keep him alive.

So during the next rebirth, as soon as he regained conscious thought he snapped the bonds shut. The five women who summoned him then had the freedom to choose whether to finish the bonding with him. Of course, the circumstances were different and the women entered into the ceremony with full knowledge of what it would mean. But still, he wanted the women to have a choice in the matter.

Now, weakened by the involuntary cutting of bonds that, even if not fully formed, should still have helped support and strengthen him, Harry did something he vowed he would never do again. He opened his magical core and allowed a preliminary link to form with the girl by the throne. Instantly energy rushed to him from the link, just as it rushed to her. He felt a brief wash of strength flow through him. Not nearly enough, but more than he had before.

Beside the throne, the girl groaned and fell to her knees. The Emperor looked at her in alarm. "What are you doing?" he demanded of Harry.

"You said you wanted offspring, right?" Harry said, covering his own shame with braggadocio. "That first lady you sent was rotten to the core. But this one—she's a little young, but the darkness hasn't ruined her completely. And it's pretty obvious you murdered the five who summoned me, so you owe me five wives."

"Release her!" the Emperor commanded.

"But you wanted children, right?"

"She is mine!"

"Oh, alright," Harry said.

It took near physical effort to block the link again. The feedback loop he created with his bond mates was more than addictive, it was essential to his existence. Still, the infusion of energy was enough to let him prepare for what may come. Across the floor, the girl's moaning stopped. Slowly, she picked herself up, but continued to sway in place. Her face remained hidden under her cowl, but he could feel anger and confusion radiating off her, along with heat caused by the endorphins from her sudden and intense arousal.

He sighed sadly. "You summoned me, murdered the women who should have provided my anchors in this world, and then tried to sedate me. What is it you want?"

"Knowledge, of course," the Emperor admitted readily enough. "We have only whispered legends of the Celestials. Traces of writing and artifacts older than even the oldest known races. I want to know why there are so many humans in the galaxy. I want to know why you have the power of the Force without midi-chlorians. You have instead all the genetic structure of the midi-chlorians as a part of your own DNA. How can this be?"

Harry shrugged. "Don't know. Hard to remember things with all my wives murdered. I didn't even know them, but for the ritual to have worked they must have been good people. And you cut them down. Why would you expect me to give you anything after that?"

"You live at my sufferance," the Emperor declared. "No matter what power you possess, you cannot withstand the might of the Galactic Empire."

The worst part for Harry as he stared into the man's yellowed eyes was the realization that he was looking into the face of evil. Almost stereotypical evil; a complete absence of good. The man could not even understand what good was, much less allow himself to be moved by it. Harry knew with absolute certainty that if he did not accede to all of this man's demands, he would not be walking out of that room. At least, not as weak as he was at that moment.

That left him two choices—die right now by his own life, or live and bond a girl he didn't know to him against her will. Dying was not difficult—he could end his own life with a thought, and it would not be painful at all. He knew that his loves from the past were waiting for him in that timeless place he could never completely remember in life.

But life was stubborn, and no one was more stubborn than Harry Potter. Knowing he was breaking his own promise—knowing his actions were highly immoral, he looked back at the girl under the cowl. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he decided to live and fight.

The girl fell to her knees again, moaning as Harry opened up the bond-link fully. The Emperor rose from his throne, clearly incensed. "What are you doing to her?"

"Taking her away from you."

"We shall see," the old man with the steely teeth sneered. "My Hand, kill him!"

The girl threw off her cowl to reveal a stunningly beautiful face framed by bright red hair a shade brighter than that of the Weasleys of Harry's first life. She screamed in rage, removed a cylinder from her belt, and charged at him faster than was humanly possible. A red beam of energy emerged from the cylinder as she rushed forward.

Harry simply watched her, admiring her lithe form and the controlled movements of her limbs. She was young, but had obviously been well trained and was physically well developed. She was also, out of all the centuries interspersed through all the eons of his existence, one the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She combined all the lethal sexiness of a Daphne Greengrass with Ginny Weasley's coloring. It was a stunning combination.

The bond flared into place. His admiration and desire for her flooded into her mind, just as her desire, confusion, anger and fear flooded into his. She came within a few feet of him and stopped with her glowing blade over her head, obviously struggling with her need to kill him. "What are you doing to me?" she screamed at him.

He looked back at her—his brilliant green eyes to her more human ones. He skimmed across her mind and was surprised by the life he saw there. A life of deprivation and torment, coupled by brief moments of praise from the Emperor. She hated everyone in her life but her master. He was the sole source of comfort and reward, respite and peace. And it was all a lie.

She could have been Harry eons ago, only where she had the Emperor controlling her and manipulating her, he had Dumbledore. With that realization his emotional paradigm of her shifted. She ceased to be a means to an end and a possible threat, and became someone worth protecting and cherishing; someone worth saving.

The new emotion suffused the link and her cheeks blushed brilliantly as she felt what she could only guess was love coming from a man she had just been ordered to kill. She was angry and confused still, but also deeply terrified by the unfamiliar emotions flooding her mind.

Quietly, for her alone, Harry said, "I'm saving your soul. That old bastard is a vampire. He'll consume every bit of good in you until you're no better than the walking dark codpiece over there. Your entire life has been a lie to shape you into a weapon. Just like I was raised so long ago."

"Kill him now, Mara Jade!" the Emperor raged from the throne.

The girl shivered. She raised her blade again. Harry responded by stepping closer to her. "I'm giving you a choice," he said. "My name is Harry Potter. I am a Mage. I was summoned from beyond the veils of death itself because I am needed, but not by the sick old bastard over there. I'm needed by you. I am here to save you, Mara Jade. To be yours and to love you. To give you the chance to have the happiness he has stolen from you."

"He's my master," the girl said through gritted teeth. "He's all I know." He raised one hand to gently caress her cheek. The touch caused her to deactivate her saber. "What are you doing to me? How can you…how can you make me feel this way?"

"Jade!" the Emperor barked, almost spitting. "Kill him! Kill him now, Mara!"

Harry ignored the old man. "I am a being of power, Mara," he told her. "Of light. And for some women who still have light and power within them that power responds to form a bond. What you are feeling is the power within you responding to me. It is not a compulsion. If you truly wanted to, you could easily raise that sword and strike me down. I would not stop you. I've died many times and it only hurts for a moment. Instead, what you are feeling is the love that I could give you. The future we could share."

She looked back at the Emperor, tears rolling down her eyes.

Harry understood. "He's never made you feel like this, has he? Nor could he. He is a being of darkness and hate. It is all he knows. I am his opposite. But I will not compel you. So you choose."

He stepped away from her, and suddenly her shivers ended. "It's gone…"

"You have a choice to make," Harry said. "Him or me. With him, you will have hate, pain and sorrow. With me, you will have love and support and friendship, and the most incredible mind-blowing sex you could ever possibly imagine. So, choose. Happiness, love and life, or pain, hate and death."

The old man stepped down from the throne. He must have realized how very close he was to loosing his servant. "Mara Jade," the old man said with grandfatherly concern, "you are my most precious. I see his power has overcome you. I will forgive you this, Mara. Come back to me and I shall have Lord Vader kill him."

"Yeah, that'll be the day," Harry snorted. He leaned toward Mara. "Think I could use that plate to turn Dark Codpiece's respirator off?"

Beside the throne, one of Vader's hands involuntarily rose to his control plate.

Mara snickered. It was such a completely foreign sensation it surprised her. She looked at Harry. "You made me laugh."

"Laughter is a healthy part of any loving relationship," Harry said. "Ask yourself when the last time you laughed was."

"I…never. Not like that."

He stepped to her side. "So, to summarize, old scary guy and the walking codpiece with a cape; handsome young man with all appendages intact and no serious skin problems. Old grandfatherly type who secretly is eating your soul; young strong male body that will not so secretly nibble any part of your body you desire."

Mara blushed to the shade of a red star.

"Finally, evil bastard who's lied to you about who really killed your parents in order to have a servant he could contact through the Force, or the man who's going to tear this broken empire down around his ears to make life better for everyone in this galaxy. I can see it in the man's mind—he killed your parents. The only reason he didn't kill you was because you had the Force. Make your choice, Mara."

He leaned forward and gently kissed her cheek. The blood rushed to her face and she swayed at the sensation caused by his lips on her skin.

"Mara, come to me," the Emperor said. "Come!"

She fell to her knees as warring sensations made her question everything she had been raised on. "It feels so good," she whispered, as if begging her master to understand. "I've never felt such…joy before."

"And we haven't even consummated the bond yet," Harry told her. "Just imagine what that will be like."

"Enough of this," the Emperor said. "Lord Vader, guards, kill them both!"

"No!" Mara screamed, horrified by the sudden betrayal.

"I did sort of warn you," Harry told the stricken girl. He knelt down beside her while Vader and the crimson-clad guards approached. "Will you come with me?"

"Yes," she said, sobbing as she spoke.

"Do you know someone or someplace we can go?"

"Yes."

"Look at me."

The crimson guards turned their force-pikes to the blaster side and unleashed a volley of fire. Mara tensed, and then stared in awe as the blasts impacted a strange blue shield that suddenly surrounded them. "What is it?"

Gentle fingers took her chin and turned her face to his. Their eyes were inches a part. "Show me where to go in your mind, Mara."

She stared up, a seventeen-year-old girl lost in the gaze of an eternal mage. Finally, he nodded and swept her up off the floor in his arms while the guards continued to shoot. He pulled harder on the preliminary links taking all the energy he could afford.

"Well, Emperor, Dark Codpiece, it's been fun, but I'm going to be going now. But rest assured we will meet again."

He and Mara, who was cradled in his arms like a babe, disappeared with a mild "pop."

In their wake, the Emperor stood. "Lord Vader, find every member of the archeology team that discovered this abomination and kill them! Then notify all naval elements. Get his image out to everyone with orders to shoot on sight."

"Yes, My Master. And Jade?"

For a brief moment, Vader saw regret on his master's face. "She has made her choice."


	3. The Witches of Dathomir

Chapter 2 review responses are available in my forums here on . Lot's of people enjoyed the humor of the last chapter. This chapter sadly is not quite as funny.

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**Chapter Three: The Witches of Dathomir**

They appeared in a small, darkened room. The moment Harry apparated, Mara slid from his numb fingers as he collapsed gasping to the floor.

Instantly Mara twisted away from him and pulled her lightsaber, though she did not immediately light it. Harry remained gasping on his knees, bent over slightly. "What have you done to me?" she screamed. "You've made the Emperor think I am a traitor! I can't even hear his voice any more. What have you done?"

He looked up at her with red-rimmed, bleary eyes. "I saved you," he said in a pain-filled voice.

"You've destroyed me!" she shouted back. She rushed forward and lashed out with her right foot, catching Harry in the chin. The blow was powerful enough to topple him onto his back. At the same time, Mara cried out and slumped to the floor as if feeling the pain she just inflicted. "What have you done to me?" she said, pleading now.

Harry shook his head, as much to clear the pain of the blow to as to answer her. The expenditure of energy to raise the shield and apparate depleted him to dangerous levels and Mara's swift foot did not help.

"I'm sorry," he finally said from the floor. "I thought I was helping you. I saw your mind. You were raised just like I was—placed in a loveless setting so that you would become emotionally dependent on the first fatherly figure you met. But he was the one who killed your parents, Mara. You're nothing more to him than a tool. And I needed you so bad."

She pushed herself to her feet until she stood over him with her weapon pointed at his head. "What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you. But please, help me."

"Help yourself. You seemed just fine in the palace."

He turned his head and looked up blearily at her. "I was bluffing, Mara. You can feel that I'm not fine."

"I don't…alright, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm dying," he said simply. "Please, help me up."

With a growl she reached down and helped Harry unsteadily to his feet. As they moved, lights came on around him to reveal a small, clean apartment. She carried him to a settee where he collapsed. Without even thinking about it, Mara lifted his legs onto the settee until he was situated, and then pulled up a nearby chair. "Now tell me."

"To answer, I need you to tell me. What happened during the ritual to revive me? How did you even find out about me?"

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"We've broken through, Professor," came the muffled voice.

Professor Emeritus Yanosh Hastlebrant checked his equipment on the hovering observation platform. Around him, curious students and a member of COMPNOR (COMmittee for the Preservation of the New ORder) stood huddled in their coats against the chill northern wind. A pillar of vapor rose up from the center of the refuse pit, which was itself over twenty kilometers in diameter. The hole itself was half a kilometer in width, and it was from that hole that the steam rose.

Above them a mining ship from the Miners Guild hung in perfect synchronicity with the hole, unaffected by the wind. Hastlebrandt brought the observation platform closer to the hole and noted with a satisfied nod that the walls of the pit were glistening with melted trash. Even so, the hole would not hold for long.

"Very good," he said. "Lay down the stabilizing agents."

A smaller ship dropped down from the center of the mining behemoth. It was still quite large, but looked more insectile with a huge, bulbous thorax surrounded on all sides by hoses that gave it the appearance of an arachnid. As soon as the smaller ship hit the horizon of the hole each hose let shot out a fine white mist.

The mist interacted with the surface of the newly burned walls and solidified into a strong permacrete. The ship continued down for twenty minutes before it returned to the main ship to refill its tank. It took three refills before the entire channel was secured.

One when that was done did Hastlebrandt send down the three survey droids. The results that came back were fascination.

Hastlebrant was a never what one would call a socially adept man. His classmates when he was a student regularly ridiculed him for his ideas and his fascination for the true antiquity of human history. Unfortunately he never grew out of his awkwardness, and where he was looked upon with disdain and contempt by his peers, he was looked upon with hatred by his students who he treated as indentured servants. Though the many students who cursed his name would consider the man wholly without the ability to know joy or happiness, he was in fact ecstatic when the droids returned their first results.

His students lingered back, but the young COMPNOR representative actually stepped to his side to see. He fought a lingering discomfort being around someone so young and stunningly beautiful, and plastered on his best "I'm a professor and am better than you" expression.

"Is that the actual surface of Coruscant?" She sounded younger than his students, but she wore the insignia of a COMPNOR officer, and Hastlebrandt knew enough about the political landscape to treat her as someone whose displeasure could end not just his carrier, but his life.

"Yes, actual granite rock," Hastlebrandt said with a whine heard in all his lectures. "We are looking at the pre-history of the planet. See here? Droid one has actually located an artifact. Look at the stone—perfectly rounded."

"Why would there be such an open cavern at the bottom of a refuse pit?"

"Who can say for sure?" Hastlebrandt said. "The volcanism that nearly destroyed the Battalions of Zhell may have formed a bubble over this particular site. Now, there is no sign of under-dwellers and the air is breathable. It's time to go down!"

The professor took the hovering observation platform back to the University-owned archeological skiff and tool the whole craft into the hole. Or, his students did, since he couldn't be bothered with learning how to operate it. They dropped more than a kilometer through layers of Imperial Center's history, until the refuse became a shale-like stone that was well on its way to compressing into oil.

The cavern when they arrived was enormous, easily large enough to hold an entire Star Destroyer. They brought the eighty-meter skiff down on the rocky surface and instantly Hastlebrandt's students set out with droids to begin a survey of the surface.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"And what did they find?" Harry asked.

"Aside from the round stone, they found a book."

"A book?" Harry said. "That ritual book has lasted as long as I have. Figures Hermione would spell it to be indestructible even after all these eons. I know we added some things to it later, though."

Mara nodded absently. Though she was not fully even aware of it, one finger was playing with an unruly lock of his hair. "The Emperor poured over the book for days. He was convinced it was preserved with some type of Sith alchemy. Actual organic fiber paper somehow survived over two million years? But that predated the Sith, the Jedi, or for that matter even the Rakata. And the language was like nothing ever seen. The Emperor began to suspect that the book was made by the Celestials.

"We brought in the most powerful translator droids and linguistic experts and found out the book was actually thousands of separate languages over a million pages all held together in a book the size of my hand. But it wasn't until Professor Hastlebrandt compared one of the pages to some of the script at an ancient space station in Corellia that we deciphered it. Centerpoint Station."

"Centerpoint Station?"

"A million year old station situated in the gravitational balance point between twin worlds," Mara explained. "Hastlebrandt thought that since it was from a similar time frame they might be able to make a connection. He was right, too. One of the scripts in the book matched the script in the station. With the additional examples, they were able to translate it. It was a ritual to revive the Lord of Light, a powerful being who was reborn through the ages in times of great need."

Harry nodded absently. His eyes were closed, though he turned his head as if to push against the hand playing with his hair.

"The Emperor sent me to fetch the tools needed to perform the ritual."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Mara sat across from the five young women in the shuttle, while the all-female crew went about their duties in nervous silence.

Gone was the COMPNOR uniform she wore for the benefit of Hastlebrandt. Now that his study yielded results there was no reason to pretend. The Palace took direct control of the dig and hired Hastlebrandt on as a consultant. When his new role was explained to him by Darth Vader personally, the professor decided to wisely accept his duties without comment or protest.

Captain Zsinj proved most useful in obtaining what the Emperor desired. Mara arrived in the dark robes of the Inquisitorious and took a shuttle down to the Red Hills Clan of the Dathomiri witches.

She explained to the elders that they needed five young, virtuous witches to perform a ritual that would raise a great and powerful light mage. In return, they would receive great wealth. If not, the village would be obliterated from orbit.

Mara watched the discussion that followed with interest. The village was not that large, and five young women constituted a large portion of their child-bearing population. Nonetheless, five young women stood up on their own initiative and announced that for the good of their people they would volunteer.

Mara at once admired their bravery, and berated them for their stupidity. Though no one had said anything to her, she knew these women would never return to their home.

Throughout the flight back to Imperial Center Mara watched the women. They were, without exception, breathtakingly beautiful while at the same time carrying themselves with an air of savage grace. They oozed a sense of casual power and sensuality that intimidated the Imperial crew-women manning the shuttle. They were all dressed in primitive, home-spun robes or cloaks that kept them warm in the cold climates of their home world while at the same time managing to expose an inordinate amount of skin. One young woman's robes parted with each step all the way to her thighs, and she wore what looked like nothing more than a loincloth beneath it.

These were the fabled witches of Dathomir.

The women looked back at Mara with the same curiosity as she felt herself. She could only imagine what they thought of her. She was only seventeen years—and yet she had four confirmed assassinations and ten infiltration jobs to her credit. She could wield a lightsaber as good as most inquisitors.

Whatever the witches thought of her, they kept it to themselves as the shuttle reached Imperial Center and flew directly into the hole in the refuse pit. They descended into the darkness, though the shuttle had no windows so it did not really matter. Finally, though, they landed and the ramp opened.

Mara stood and bowed to the witches, treating them with respect as her master had commanded. "It's time," she said.

The five looked at her carefully, observing her red hair and pale skin. All five were brunettes, with dark, powerful eyes. They had the shining beauty of youth, but also looked somewhat similar to each other. It was obvious they came from a common ancestral stock that likely had a good deal of close breeding

"Thank you," the leader said. She stood gracefully and pulled a long wood staff to her side. As they stepped toward the ramp, the leader paused and slowly caressed Mara's cheek with an odd sort of benediction. "Your beauty is alien to us," she said, "but your heart tastes familiar. There is power in you, sister. Do not let the darkness of your masters crush it completely." She turned and nodded to the other four, who also stood and gathered their wooden staffs.

Mara's master stood waiting for them at the end of a path smoothed out of the underlying rock. Lord Vader stood at the Emperor's side, while behind them stood Imperial Guards. Professor Hastlebrandt stood off to one side.

The five witches did not kneel as they arrived. The Dathomiri witches did not kneel to any man. Instead, the bowed their heads in greeting. "Emperor Palpatine," the leader said. "In return for the release of our clan from Zisnj, we present ourselves to you as agreed."

"And I welcome you," the Emperor said. "It is a historic day, and you should be honored to be a part of it. Walk with me."

The Emperor of the galaxy turned and started walking back into the depths of the cavern. His hulking apprentice followed. Mara followed behind the women.

"Tell me, my young friends, what do you know of human history?" the Emperor said.

"We know of our own history," the leader of the coven said. "That is enough."

"Perhaps," Palpatine said without looking at them. He moved at a glacial pace. "It has often been speculated that Imperial Center was the true home of the human race, and that it was the ancient Rakata who gave humanity hyperdrive technology. However, this does not explain the number of near human species who have evolved from our base gene pool. While evolution can work quickly, so many divergent species speak of a long period of human evolution throughout the galaxy."

"It surprises my sisters and I that you would have such interests," the lead witch said.

"I have always been a student of the human condition," Palpatine said. "Humans have always had a special place in this galaxy. A destiny, if you will. Tell me, have you ever wondered why the majority of the Jedi were human? The Force exists in many species, but it centers primarily around human beings. Why is that?"

"You believe you know the answer?"

Palpatine said nothing as they continued to walk. The granite began to rise in a gentle slope, until they arrived at a promontory that stood apart of from the rest of the stone floor. In the exact center of the promontory was a flat, perfect stone circle.

"Professor Hastlebrandt," the Emperor said, "would you care to explain to our guests what we are looking at?"

The ugly man preened. "Gladly, my Lord! This stone is one of the oldest artifacts in the known galaxy. We have determined that it is over two million years old. As you can see, it is perfectly round, proving that it was manufactured rather than being a natural structure. It predates the Rakata by a million years. In fact, it may have been built by the ancestors of the Celestials themselves."

The five witches stared at the stone in fascination. Mara herself also felt her eyes drawn to the circle. It was not large at all—perhaps only three meters in diameter. However, something about the stone called to her. The effect it had on the five witches was even more pronounced.

"Yes," the Emperor hissed, his frightening orange eyes closed. "You feel it as well."

"What is it?" the lead witch whispered.

"Power, dear girl," the Emperor said. "The power of the Celestials. The power of the first humans. We found other items in this dig, items that should not have survived for two million years, but somehow did. Texts made on primitive plant-based paper that was somehow infused with a Force energy unlike any even I have sensed, more effective even than Sith alchemy, making it near impervious to time or the elements. The writing was like nothing even our historians could decipher, until Dr. Hastlebrandt here proposed a theory connecting the text to Centerpoint Station, the next oldest known artifact in the galaxy."

Hastlebrandt hovered nearby, as if just waiting for a chance to lecture. "One of the texts we found had several different languages on it, including one that had several commonalities with the most ancient known root of Mando'a. They appeared to be translations of a single message. It provided the key needed to decipher the meaning behind the language. And once we did that, our whole understanding of the universe changed. We learned that the Celestials built Centerpoint Station with a specific purpose—to create star systems."

The witches stared first at the professor, then at the Emperor in shock.

"It is true," Palpatine continued, studying each sister in turn. "My best researchers examined this site in great detail. There used to be an ocean here, and the deposits indicate extensive vegetation existed around the site. Coruscant was a living world long ago, but when we examined the carbon in the rock, my scientists found something interesting."

"Coruscant is not native to the Corusca star system," Hastlebrandt explained. "The original star of this world was much, much closer and much younger, more so than a million years of orbital decay could explain. In geologic time a million years is not that long. The only explanation was that somehow Imperial Center was moved. We have other evidence as well that that the Celestials constructed star systems using Centerpoint Station. The Corellia System is another one we believe was constructed. So what was it about this planet that caused the Celestials to move it to the center of the Galaxy? It was their home world. The home of humanity."

Mara was fighting a battle to keep her head down. The professor's words were unbelievable. To think that any species was powerful enough to build whole star systems seemed beyond incredible.

"Why did you bring us here, Emperor?" the lead witch finally asked.

"The text we recovered spoke of a being of great power from before even the Celestial's rise to power," Palpatine said. "A being of purest light and love. It is my belief that such a being would be an incredible asset in learning the secrets of the Celestials. He is a being who was beyond time and could be reborn in eras of need by the love and sacrifice of five witches of pure virtue."

At the word "sacrifice" the witches immediately assumed a fighting stance with their staffs held out. This caused an immediate reaction from all the guards, who as one fell to their knees with their force-pikes ready.

The Emperor merely raised his hand. "You misunderstand, my dears. The text does not call for your lives, simply for a willingness to give your life. The sacrifice itself is one of blood given through a small cut on your palm. No one here means you harm."

"We can feel the evil pouring off you, Sith Lord," the lead witch said. "Can you blame us for doubting your words?"

Palpatine's grandfatherly smile turned to a sneer. "Your belief is irrelevant. Only your compliance is required. To do other than I say will mean the destruction of your clan from orbit."

The witches remained in a fighting stance for a moment before straightening. "As you say," the leader said with a scowl. "So this is what you wish of us? The resurrection of a long dead Celestial?"

"I wish you to open a door to the past," Palpatine said. "It must be voluntary for the ritual to work."

The five women looked at each other for the longest time, before they finally agreed.

"Assume a circle around the stone," Palpatine commanded.

The witches spread out around the circle and knelt down on their knees.

"Excellent," Palpatine said. "The language was too ancient to have a true idea of how to speak it, since only written records remain. However, it is my belief the intent of the ritual is more important than the language. Therefore you will speak the ritual in Basic."

The five beautiful young women agreed with silent nods.

The Emperor nodded to Vader. The Sith Lord stepped forward and from the folds of his cloak removed a sharp, silver dagger. "You will be first," he said in a rumbling, mechanical basso. "You shall say the following: 'In the name of Lady Gryffindor, I would die for you.' You shall then cut your hand and allow the blood to fall on the stone."

Vader turned to the next witch. "You shall say, 'In the name of Lady Hufflepuff, I would die for you.' Then cut your hand and bleed on the stone."

To the next three girls he said, "You shall be in the name of lady Ravenclaw. You shall be Lady Slytherin. And you shall be Lady Potter."

The witches nodded their understanding, not even questioning the strange, alien names. The leader sat up on her knees with one hand stretched over the stone. "In the name of Lady Gryffindor, I would die for you."

She cut her palm with no outward sign of pain, and let several drops of blood fall on the stone. With that done she handed the knife over.

"In the name of Lady Hufflepuff, I would die for you," the next witch said. She also cut her palm without any sign of the pain before passing the knife on. By the time the Ravenclaw witch had cut her palm, the air felt thick with a cloying sensation Mara could not truly describe. It was as if the air was alight with electricity.

Slytherin did her part. The stone between then took on a faint pink glow, and after a moment the glow began to pulse much like a heartbeat. Finally, the fifth witch took the knife. "And in the name of Lady Potter, I would die for you."

She cut her palm and blood dropped down onto the stone.

The witches as one gasped. Mara had no choice but to look herself as an outline of shadow formed in the depths of the stone, which had become inexplicably pink and viscous. It was the vague shape of a humanoid in a fetal position. The shadow became firmer and more distinct with each pulse of the stone, until it breached the surface.

The body broke through the surface coated in pink slime that clung to his naked body. The moment he fully merged, the rock solidified below him. The five witches moved as one, acting almost compelled, as they leaned forward and rolled the creature onto his back.

Mara stared, as surprised as the rest. The Lord of Light, this being of purest love, looked very much like a typical teenage human boy. A rather well endowed teenage boy, granted, but still just a boy.

The witches, though, seemed mesmerized. "Can you feel his power, sisters?" the lead witch said as she wiped slime from his face.

"He is beautiful," the other four agreed. "It calls to us."

"His power calls to us to make us a part of him," the lead witch continued. She spoke as if in a trance. "To love him and be one with him. To bear his children and raise them to embrace his great power. I've never felt the like."

Evidently whatever the women were feeling, the boy was feeling as well, judging by his increasing erection. Mara could not help a mild blush as she saw an erect penis for the very first time in her life. The erection lasted only a moment before he convulsed. He turned onto his side and began to shake violently and moan in agony.

"He is in pain. He needs us, sisters," the lead witch said. The women as one climbed onto the stone and laid their hands on him. The air crawled with power and after a moment the boy's convulsions eased.

A moment after that he opened his eyes. They glowed a brilliant green for one long heartbeat before the glow began to fade. Slowly he sat up with the five women helping him. He looked at their faces in confusion for a moment. "Who are you?" he whispered. His voice sounded raw and ill-used, but he spoke clear Basic.

"We are yours," the lead witch said. "Your power calls too strongly for us to resist. We are for you."

That was when the Emperor nodded to Lord Vader. Mara felt the violence building in the Force and prepared herself as well. The witches sensed it as well, but Vader was too fast. The Dark Lord surged forward, his red lightsaber humming, and the leader of the witches fell headless to the ground.

Professor Hastlebrandt screeched like a young girl before fainting dead away and falling to the granite.

Guards around them struck with lethal speed, careful not to hit the Emperor's prize. The witches swirled their staffs, somehow actually deflecting the first few blows, but there were too many and the witches fell. It all happened in the course of ten stunning seconds.

The slime-covered boy stood trembling on the stone, looking around him with wide eyes. The trembling worsened until he fell back to his knees on the stone. He reared back with a scream, and the air itself seemed to explode.

Mara had only a brief moment to prepare herself before an unseen force tossed her bodily through the air. She tumbled for what seemed like an eternity before she stopped moving. It took her several moments to catch her breath. When at last she did, and determined she was not seriously hurt, she picked herself up and ran back to the stone circle.

Vader and the Emperor had both been tossed away as well. Two Crimson Guards were assisting Palpatine back to his feet, while Vader was marching angrily toward the boy. Only, the boy was not fighting. He was passed out on the stone, twitching occasionally as if in pain so agonizing not even unconsciousness was enough to give him relief.

"Even more powerful than I knew," the Emperor whispered. "Take the boy. Leave the rest."


	4. A Stranger in a Strange Land

Review responses to Chap 3 are available in my forums. Due to something with , if the link is not visible I've placed the URL in my profile.

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**Chapter Four: A Stranger in a Strange Land**

"Are you even awake?" Mara demanded when she finished speaking. She realized what she had been doing to his hair and pulled her hand away. As she did so, she saw moisture glistening on the boy's cheeks. "What is wrong now?"

"He murdered those women," Harry said. "For what?"

"He never said, but most likely to limit the knowledge of your existence," Mara said.

"They were innocent," Harry said. "Good people."

"You didn't even know them."

"For the ritual to have worked, they had to have been good people," Harry said. "The words had power. But their willingness and purity of soul was what made it all work. I could feel them. I needed them. Without them, I'm dying."

"What is that supposed to even mean?"

She stopped speaking when those brilliant eyes met hers. She once again felt that terrible, incredible warmth that hit her in the throne room. If she had not been sitting, she would have fallen to the floor. "What is this?"

"It is a bond," he said softly. "I was so weak that I created a bond between us. It was either you or Drayneen, and frankly she was beyond redemption. Very nice breasts, though."

Mara blushed as an image of the Inquisitor's breasts appeared in her mind. "Vader's people call her Iron Nipples. She uses her sex in her interrogations."

Harry chuckled weakly. "Yeah. Thing is, if I tried to bond with her, her head would explode."

"What?"

"Incompatible power. I can't bond with evil, Mara. No matter how weak I am."

"I've murdered in the name of my master," Mara said. "I've killed without remorse or compassion. So why me?"

"Because you thought it was the right thing to do," Harry said gently. "Because you were raised to do a job. You had no choice. But if you were truly evil, Mara, I could never have loved you."

She jumped to her feet abruptly. "Don't say that! You don't know what love is!"

Harry chuckled weakly. "Sweetie, I have loved more women than you can imagine. I would have to run through their names to remember how many, but it has been tens of thousands. And I did not just sleep with them one or twice, Mara. I married them and lived lifetimes with them. Raised children with them and made sure they knew they were loved and appreciated. So many children, so much love…." He sighed. "When I die, I go back to them. Every time I'm called, it gets harder to come back. I fight it because I'm so tired. I don't want to come back. I want to stay with my family. But the women who called me—they seemed so urgent. There was a terrible need, and so I came."

"Why would you be dying now?"

"I needed them, you see. The ritual and the sacrifice created this body, Mara, but it was the love of those women I needed to anchor my soul to this body. Without those anchors, my soul wants to move on."

"It sounds like you want to die," Mara said. "So why don't you?"

"Because of you."

She blinked and fingered the lightsaber she still clutched in her hand. "What do you mean?"

"You needed me, Mara. You and everyone else. That man, he is evil. He does not understand goodness in any form. He should not be the leader of this galaxy, and he should never have been your master. If you stayed with him too much longer, Mara, he would destroy your soul. He was going to consume you until only darkness remained."

"What is it to you? Why would you even care?"

"I have a 'people saving' thing. Always have. That's why I keep coming back when called." He sighed and turned on his side to better see her. "You're a beautiful girl of seventeen years old. Have you ever dated a man?"

"I am the Emperor's Hand," Mara said, drawing herself up. "Of course not."

"Ever have a day with friends to just go shopping?"

"No, that would be silly."

"Ever have anyone hug you?"

"What? No."

He nodded. "Me neither, not until I was eleven years old. But you know what? There is no greater power a person can experience than that of a heart-felt hug."

"You're such a fool," she whispered.

He slowly pushed himself into an upright position, and then trembling pushed himself to his feet. Mara eyed him warily. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to show you."

"Try and I'll cut your legs off."

"And I'm sure that would hurt," Harry said. He stumbled forward anyway until he was in front of her. He swayed at the effort of standing, but did not hesitate to reach out.

"Don't you…." She stopped at his first touch on her shoulder. It was like a pebble on water, spreading ripples of wonderful, soothing warmth through her tense muscles. The other hand came around her other shoulder, and she felt so intensely relaxed that she lacked the will to resist as he pulled her into a gentle embrace.

Though the feeling of it was indescribable, she could still feel him trembling at the effort. His voice in her ear, though, was steady and strong. "I swear to you now, Mara, that I will never hurt you. I will cherish and protect you from all harm, even if it means my life. I will give you everything I have. And if you allow it, I will love you as much as you can stand."

"You're a complete fool," she said, though she did not pull away.

Then she felt his lips on her neck, and her veins caught fire as desire ripped through her defenses. It took a most supreme effort of will to step back. "Stop that!"

Instantly the warmth cut off, so abruptly she shivered in its absence. Harry's eyes were half-lidded, and without a word he collapsed to the floor. This time his eyes did not stay open and he slumped over, unconscious.

Mara stood staring down at this strange young man with the ancient eyes in confusion, fear, and if she admitted it to herself, a sense of longing like nothing she had ever felt. She dipped down into the Force, using it to the very extent of her admittedly limited ability, and levitated the young man into the bedroom of the small emergency room she had set up independent of the Emperor for her missions.

It was the closest thing she had to a home of her own outside the palace, and only had it because the Emperor needed her to have an independent base of operations during certain missions.

She lifted him onto the bed where he lay without moving a muscle. Unsure of what to do with herself, Mara lay down beside him, staring up at the ceiling with her hands behind her head. She couldn't get the image of the Emperor's expression out of her head. He looked at her so coldly as he ordered her death.

She almost jumped out of bed when she felt a hand caressing her temple. Very weakly, Harry said, "I know what they look like."

"Who?" Mara demanded.

"Your parents. He knew them. He knew who you were. Let me show you."

"It's a trick."

"It's the truth," he said.

She turned to look at him, but his eyes were still closed. Beads of sweat quivered on his forehead. Alarmed, she propped herself up on her elbow and felt at his forehead. "Stang, you're burning up!"

"I told you, I'm dying," he said without opening his eyes. "But before I go I can do this much for you. I can show you the truth."

He lifted a trembling hand to her temple, and almost instantly Mara had a sensation of falling. She found herself standing in the entryway of a strangely familiar home. And there, at the door, stood two people she recognized immediately.

It hurt so much that she did not know their names. Her mother was tall and beautiful, with dark auburn hair. Her father was a strong-looking man with black hair and a beard that oddly enough had red highlights in it. She realized, looking at them, that she had her father's green eyes.

Her father was holding a lightsaber. It was green—a Jedi blade.

Across from them stood Vader and the Emperor himself. The Emperor was cackling even as Vader stepped forward and engaged her father in a short, vicious duel.

Mara could not help but cry out at the memory of her father's head falling to the floor. She turned and watched as her mother screamed in terror and despair, clutching the baby to her chest. The emperor's hands twisted and the baby was wrest from her mother's hands.

Mara's mother surged after the baby, only to be cut down without hesitation by Vader's red blade.

As quickly as it came, the vision ended. "Lies," she sniffed.

"You know it's true," Harry whispered, still with his eyes closed. "The memory is within you."

"It can't be true. He is my Master. I am precious to him."

"In the same way his lightsaber is precious," Harry said. "Let me show you another memory so much like yours."

Another vision came. Another mother and father fighting another Dark Lord. The father again fell first, defending his wife and child. The woman—whose hair was not so dissimilar to Mara's—fled up a set of stairs. The robed figure followed, carrying death in his wake. He threatened the child, offering life to the mother. When death was sent, the mother gave her own life to save her son.

"What was that?" Mara said, feeling the same grief from that memory as the memory of her own parent's death.

"That was the night my own parents died, when I was a baby," Harry said.

"How…how long ago was that?"

"From what you've told me, probably around two million years ago," Harry admitted. "The world of my birth died, destroyed with the rest of the galaxy that housed it in a war unlike anything even I have ever faced. In my last life, our hubris had finally caught up to us. A race of beings as old as existence itself decided we were dangerous. And we were. Every god we killed, one of our worlds burned. So it went for almost a century. We fought the gods themselves, and though we were losing, we hurt them as well. In the end, the last of their kind caused a neighboring galaxy to collide with ours, killing everything. We had no choice but to move to this galaxy. By that point it wasn't feasible to try transporting that many people by ship, so we just moved the planets. Your archeologist was right about that."

"Two millions years," Mara whispered.

"More lives than I can easily count," Harry said. "I was called again and again, and each time I found the galaxy so different from what I knew before. But always there were the five women who summoned me. They gave me the language of the time. They anchored me emotionally and magically. They inherited the magical mantle from their previous sister wives and so there was always a familiarity there for me to fall back on. But never, in all that time, did I have the five women killed before the bonds could form. If he had waited until the bonds formed fully, I would have died outright with them. But doing it before the bonds fully formed, I'm left weak and in pain."

"And dying?"

"Yes."

"What's it like to die?"

"It used to be terrifying," Harry said. "My first death I was tortured for hours. My second I killed myself after losing my wives and all I loved. But then my third death was soothing and peaceful. I lived a full life with five women who genuinely loved me, and when the last of those wonderful women died I carried her back into the heartstone. They were waiting for me on the other side—my first five wives and the second newly arrived. It was like going home."

"Was it like that every time?"

"Sometimes I died in agony, sometimes in despair. Sometimes I fought with everything I had and it still wasn't enough to beat back the darkness. But always they were waiting for me, five more women with each life, all as loving as those who came before. And in that place beyond, I could be everywhere at once. My will was strong enough that I could sustain all their memories. Our children usually joined us, though their children went to their own frame of existence. It changes over time and with the perceptions of those who die. But always it was so wonderful."

His eyes finally opened, and Mara gasped when she saw a slight film forming over them. "I don't mind dying again, Mara. But I worry now about you. I see so much of myself in you. Your fear and anger, your distrust, but also your incredible capacity to love. I fear you will never get to feel true love."

"I can live without it."

"No, Mara, you can only exist without it."

She pulled herself into a sitting position and looked down at him. He was handsome, but seemed withered from when she saw him the first time. Tired and drawn and weak. "You really are dying, aren't you?"

"Probably within the hour," Harry said. There was no fear in his voice.

"And what could I do to stop it?"

"Accept the bond," he said.

"What would that do to me?"

"It would change you into a mage."

"And what's that?"

Filmy eyes stared at her, and a trembling hand lifted to rest on her knee. His touch felt hot. "The midi-chlorians in your blood would fade away, absorbed into your own mitochondrial material. Your brain would develop a paracortex like mine, and you would no longer need the Force to access power. You would become a part of the energy field from which the Force is derived."

"How could you possible know that?"

"Because I helped create midi-chlorians," Harry said with a gentle smile. "Magus power was deadly to all other life in this galaxy. Why do you think we felt so compelled at the end to save you? Though our own galaxy's death was beyond our control, the death of lifeforms in this galaxy was not. The power to bring worlds here irradiated the whole galaxy with anaphasic energy. The only way to save all life was to create a symbiote to absorb and process that energy. So the last wives I had—beings at the evolutionary peak of my kind—took my DNA, fashioned the midi-chlorians, and used Centerpoint to seed them throughout the galaxy. You carry the seed of my power within you, Mara. And if you accept a bond with me, that seed will blossom. You will be a mage with power not even your master could imagine."

"So many reasons," she said. "You want my love. You want me to be happy. You want me to have power. What do you get out of it?"

"You," he said. "As my wife."

Mara couldn't help the disbelieving snort. "You're lying."

"I'm too tired to lie," he said.

"Well, too bad. I'm no one's woman. I'm no one's wife. I am Mara Jade, and I'd gladly see you die before I change that."

"As you wish," Harry said. "I truly wish the best for you, Mara Jade."

With that, he closed his eyes and stopped breathing.

It was so sudden, Mara could not believe it. She reached out to his clammy head, and already the fever was dropping rapidly. She placed a hand on his heart, and jerked it back when she could feel no beat.

With her limited Force ability, she reached out to him, but could feel nothing but a shadow of his presence, and a voice crying out joyfully, _I'm coming, my loves!_

Tears welled in Mara's eyes when she felt the desperate hope and longing in that thought. He really did want to die. And yet he held off joining his loved ones for her, in the hopes that he could make her life better.

Sudden, soul-rending loneliness struck without warning. "No!" she screamed. She straddled his body and grabbed his face. "No! I was wrong. Don't go, please! Don't leave me here alone! Please don't go. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

She leaned down and kissed him, not sure what she hoped to accomplish. His lips were already cooling and she felt nothing at first. Just as she was about to pull her lips back, made salty by tears, she felt a tiny spark of heat. His lower lip moved in reaction to hers, and she pressed hers back down again.

The spark ignited a fire. Passion so strong it made her whole body shudder ripped its way through her. Without even thinking about it, she parted her lips and felt his tongue on hers. The fire burned, but did not hurt. Rather it energized her like nothing she had ever experienced.

She opened her eyes and saw brilliant, clear green orbs staring back at her. He was crying. "I was so close to home," he whispered. He did not sound happy at all.

"I'm sorry," Mara said, weeping as well. "I realized…I was so afraid of being alone here. My master thinks I betrayed him. I…I didn't want to be alone. I'm so sorry. I felt you calling them. How happy you were. Please forgive me."

"Oh child," Harry whispered, "why do you think I opened the bond to you? So much alike, you and I. We don't realize how terrible our loneliness is until we have a chance of being free of it. And when the chance presents itself, we become terrified by the possibility of happiness."

"Will you stay?" Mara whispered.

Gently he pulled her down and they kissed again. The fire struck once more, even stronger this time. She found herself needing something she never needed before. Her hands roved freely over him, until she realized that her clothes were almost burning her skin.

She jumped off long enough to shed her unitard and robe, until she realized with a shock that she was standing naked before a man she had known less than a day. He was looking at her with hunger in his eyes, too. Hunger and admiration. But where the hungry glances of her master's courtiers made her upset or ashamed, his gaze made her feel brazen and strong.

His clothes literally melted away from his body. He was still weakened and withered, thinner than when she first saw him. But even so, he was beautiful to her. "I don't know what to do," she whispered.

"Your body knows," he said. "I…I'm too weak to do too much myself. I'm sorry. Normally the first time I make love to my wife. But this time, I need you to make love to me. Please…"

She stepped to the bed and stared into his eyes. Trembling with need, desire and trepidation, she swung her leg over him until she was positioned directly over him. She reached down and felt his member—it was stiff and warm.

"Will it hurt?"

"Not with me," he promised.

* * *

sp

sp

Yes, I'm sorry, a short transition chapter. The story will start moving much faster next week.


	5. Leaving Home

Chapter 4 Review Responses are on my forum. Since the link is not visible on my profile, the UURL is. Thanks for reading!

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**Chapter Five: Leaving Home**

Mara woke up to a foreign emotion.

It took her a moment to realize she was happy. Not just happy. She felt a deep, soothing sense of contentment unlike anything she had ever known. The reason for that contentment was snuggled closely behind her.

She felt his hand gently cupping one of her breasts even in his sleep. She could feel his thighs pressing against the back of her legs. She felt his breath gently caressing her neck. She felt his manhood nestled against the rise of her rump and remembered the last round of their lovemaking before they drifted off into a contented sleep.

Mara was not like Drayneen or the other female members of the Inquisitorius who would sometimes play with their targets. Drayneen was known to couple with a suspected Jedi while the men were tied down, and then kill them the moment she finished.

Her Master seemed amused by the Inquisitor's antics. Sometimes at night Mara feared he would ask her to do something similar. She would of course do whatever he asked, but of all her tasks she most deeply feared the time when he would instruct her to give up her virginity.

And yet, she could never have imagined such a simple physical act could feel like what she felt. In fact, she knew that what she shared with Harry was more than simple lovemaking. The sensations she experienced went beyond the mere physical. It felt as if he were caressing her very soul, and the expression of their physical love was just the tip of what they actually shared.

She knew now. She knew absolutely that he loved her. That he would kill or die for her, and that he would do everything in his power, up to his very death, to keep her safe and happy.

It came as a shock that she shared the feeling. She barely knew him, and yet at the same time she knew him better than herself. And she would die for him.

"That's not really the point," a pair of loved lips whispered into her neck.

Slowly she turned and saw him looking at her with a bittersweet smile. "What do you mean?"

"You're dying for me isn't the point," he said again. He already looked better, she decided. His color was flushed and alive. "The point is for you to live for me. For yourself. I _need_ you to be happy, Mara. Because only in your happiness can I be fulfilled."

"That sounds like a really bad pick-up line."

"Yeah, I know."

She reached up a hand and traced his jaw. "You stayed for me?"

"For you," he agreed. "But Mara, I need you to understand that if I am going to do anything to help this galaxy, there must be others as well."

"Four more?"

He nodded.

"Why?"

So he told her. He told her his entire story how he discovered he was the heir of four magical bloodlines in addition to his own. How the power he used to call magic influenced him and led him to bonding with his first five wives.

Of why he had to sacrifice himself, so that others could live. "I was sixteen. And I knew that I had to die. I know that the ceremony was supposed to ensure that my wives would give the lines heirs, but that's all I knew for sure. But for them—so that Voldemort could be mortal and Hermione could be saved—I walked out of the castle, through the fields and gave myself to a murderer."

"And they tortured you?"

Harry said. "Even now, it hurts to think about that first death. Of all of them, that was the worst. Because I didn't _know_ what would happen. But I loved them so much… And I got to see my Godfather waiting for me. We watched from beyond the veil as my friends fought the last battle of that war. Then I felt the pull, and I knew my wives were calling me. They pulled me into a new body, and a former enemy turned friend added his own sacrifice. I was born more powerful than at any other time, because of that friend's own sacrifice. I emerged and I destroyed the Dark Lord, and we lived happily until the next one rose. There was always a next one."

He was weeping. Mara leaned forward until she kissed his tear. "And now?"

"Now? Your own evolution is going to begin. You're the sole anchor keeping me in this body, and eventually the strain will harm you. So we need to find others—women of strength and virtue. Preferably women who, like yourself, would benefit by this bond. Each woman added will strengthen all of us."

"And I'll have to share you."

He smiled at her, and then kissed her until her toes curled and the need overwhelmed them. He was much stronger this time, and mounted her. He looked down at her the whole time they loved each other, until both finished.

As they did so, he whispered into her ear, "I can love without limit, Mara. Both physically and emotionally. You may share me, but you will never be in want of me. On my very soul I swear this to you."

Afterward they showered in her small fresher. She never shared a shower with anyone before, but found it soothing. She simply stood and let him gently wash her body more completely than she ever could, and then she returned the favor. It was a level of intimacy and comfort she had never imagined she could have, and she luxuriated in it.

When they were done, she realized with a start: "I have no clothes for you."

"Then this will be a good first lesson for you." He pulled the well-used sheets from her bed, and as she watched, the shimmersilk transformed into a well-fitted black uniform not too dissimilar to what she was wearing when they first met.

"How did you…you can't do that with the Force."

"The midi-chlorians act as a filter, Mara. The Force, as you call it, is just the surface of magic. Magic itself is almost limitless in its applications. This is transfiguration, the changing of one thing into another. With sufficient power, the change can be made permanent."

"Is it molecular?"

"It can be, with enough power it can be atomic or even subatomic. This clothing is the same material, just thicker and fitted. More of it, also. But with sufficient power I can transfigure one metal into another. I can transfigure people into animals. I can transfigure inanimate objects into living things, even if only for a time. At the height of our powers, the Mages were treated almost like gods by the rest of the galaxy; or as devils, depending on who you asked. It was that great power that eventually spelled our downfall."

"And I'll be able to do that?"

"Eventually. You're so young, you'll need a focus for your power, but I'll find one for you."

"So I'll lose the Force?"

"No, anything you can do with the Force you'll continue to be able to do. You'll just gain a lot more."

She nodded thoughtfully as she got dressed. He watched her, admiring her body openly. "You are an incredibly beautiful woman, Mara. Thank you for loving me."

"I…you're welcome," she said, suddenly feeling bashful. "What are we going to do now?"

"I suppose it depends. In my experience, in most interstellar dictatorships, there is usually a resistance of some type."

"There is a rebellion," Mara said. "It formally organized last year, we think. One of Darth Vader's pet projects went rogue and helped start it. He almost killed Vader before the Emperor himself destroyed the boy."

"I sense regret in your voice."

"He was like me," Mara confessed. "I never met him, but when it was over and I learned more, he was like me. The son of a Jedi Vader killed, raised as a weapon. He stood up and made a decision to help the resistance, though. He gave his life for it."

"What was his name?"

"Galen Marek."

"A hero, then," Harry said. "A martyr. Humans thrive on inertia. Sometimes it takes a martyr to make them realize action must be taken."

"The voice of experience?"

"More than once, sadly." He walked to a window and looked out. "Wow," he breathed. "The droid said a trillion people. Is the whole planet like this?"

"Yes," she said, joining him. Hesitantly, at first, she placed an arm around his waist. She felt a happy surge when he did the same thing without even pausing. "The whole planet is a city."

"Once upon a time this world was almost uninhabited. When I woke into my third life and realized that the Mages had become all but extinct, I moved what survivors I could find onto this world. It had a small human population, but they welcomed us. We struggled, but eventually thrived again. Eventually, it became our home world as the humans gradually left, or were made ill by our power and died. I do wish we had realized what was happening sooner. It was beautiful back then, Mara. Pure and open and just waiting for us to make new lives for ourselves. That was one of the happiest of all my lives because it was an entire life spent filled with hope for the future."

They stood in silence, holding each other while in the morning light beyond, Coruscant started another day. "I love you," she whispered, trying the words out.

He looked down at her with his ageless eyes in that young face, and smiled so gently she melted against him. "And I love you, Mara Potter."

"Potter?"

"By power and bond, you are my wife, Mara. You've bonded to my personal family line. You don't have to take the name if you don't wish to, but it was traditional."

"Could I be Mara Jade Potter?"

He kissed her and laughed. "You can be anything you want, as long as you're mine."

"Mara Jade Potter, then."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter."

"And you, Mr. Potter." She giggled. "You don't act like an eons-old wizard."

"Like I told your former master, it's biology. The body has its own instincts. I may be ageless, but I'm also seventeen years old physically. That affects my mental processes, and it definitely effects my emotions."

"I'm glad, in a way," she said. "I'm not sure I could love someone so very old."

"And that's why I am the way I am," Harry admitted. "I was designed, Mara. By the sentience of magic itself, I was designed to carry the bloodlines of my ancestors and to birth those bloodlines anew. I know it's hard to imagine, but when it is safe, we are going to have kids. Just as you love me, you'll love them. And once again Mage-kind will be reborn."

"I'm on a hormone treatment to prevent pregnancy."

"Less than useless," Harry said. "But I've learned to control the process. It's not safe for you to carry a child now, not with the threat of your former master hanging over us. When the time is right, we'll discuss it, and if you agree then I'll loose the controls. But in the meantime you can stop the treatment."

"I…I started them because…"

"Your cycles will not bother you any more," Harry said with a shrug. It felt odd talking to him about her menses, but he seemed totally unfazed. "It's a part of the bonding process. You're not going to suffer any more cramps, ever, and you'll be as regular as a clock."

She giggled. "That alone might have been worth it."

He pulled her closer, but then spun around. She felt it as well—a threat coming. "They must have found us," she said.

"Do you have means to leave the planet?"

"Yes."

"Where? Show me in your mind, like you did before."

She was looking into his eyes when the door exploded and Darth Vader stepped in with a squad of storm troopers. The Dark Lord had just moments to see them before both disappeared with a pop.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

They appeared in what looked like a large, unlit garage. A moment later the lights responded to their presence, along with an alarm. "Stang it," Mara muttered. She ran toward a nearby wall and input her security code. "Sorry 'bout that," she said as she walked back.

Harry, though, was looking at the ship that took up much of the garage. "What is it?"

"Skipray Blastboat," she said. "I needed something with hyperdrive that wouldn't stand out. Skiprays are all over the place—both the Empire and the Rebellion use them."

"I didn't know your people were this far along," Harry muttered. "When Vader said he had lung damage that couldn't be repaired, I figured you were just newly into faster than light travel."

Mara blinked at him. "We've had faster than light travel for tens of thousands of years. The Galactic Republic that my master overthrew was twenty-five thousand years old!"

Harry closed his eyes. "I see," he said.

"What does that mean?"

"Your civilization is not advancing, it's declining."

That made Mara blink. "Well, yes, I suppose in a way that's true. Professor Hastlebrandt seemed to think we reached our peak about ten thousand years ago. But then again, he was a real Kowakian Monkey Lizard."

Harry snorted. "Monkey lizard? That's a new one. I'm going to have to read up on all the good insults. So, is it ready to go?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure where." As she spoke she was tinkering at a monitor on a worktable further down the garage. Interested, Harry walked over to join her. "Interesting script, there."

"Can you read it?"

"Thankfully, yes. Certain skills came from those performing the ritual. Is that money, then?"

"Credits. We're going to need them, so I'm pulling out my accounts. The Emperor gave me an allowance and funds for missions. I never used it all and put it in secret accounts in case a mission ever went bad."

Harry nodded in appreciation. "Smart and beautiful. You, my dear, are just about perfect."

"I know," Mara quipped as she finished emptying her account onto her last credit chit. "This will last us for a while, but not forever."

Pocketing the chits, she eyed the blastboat for a moment. "You know, this is registered. The Emperor probably has every ship in the galaxy looking for it. We'll be lucky to make it a klick before they start shooting."

"I'd offer to apparate it," he said, "but in my experience that really messes up most ships. Unless it was specifically wired for Mage use, I'd fry everything on board."

"Well, I suppose we could use it as a decoy…"

Harry nodded. "And then buy passage off-world."

"They know what we look like….what?"

Before her eyes, Harry's face melted into that of an older man with a graying black beard and a thick head of hair. He waved his hand at her and she felt a tingling sensation before she ran to the small mirror over the workbench sink. She saw a woman in her mid-forties with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes in the reflection. "How did…transfiguration?"

"Something like that. It's more like a glamour, only more than an illusion. That is your actual physical appearance and should pass any scans."

"Wow," she breathed. "And it comes undone?"

"Easily."

With that, she dove into the blastboat and retrieved her personal effects. She then sat down and began programming the autopilot. When she was done, she patted the sides of the vehicle and watched as it lifted up off the ground. The garage door lifted up and the ship flew out into the crowded air.

"Where now?" Harry asked.

"The nearest spaceport," she said.

"Show me."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

They apparated to a corner of the massive port and somehow managed to avoid detection. Holding hands, the two navigated their way through the crowds until they reached a line of security checkpoints.

"We don't have paperwork," she said.

"Are they scanned by droids or done by humans?"

"Most are scanned, but there are some technophobes who demand everything be done by hand. Like if we were Bakuran."

"Okay. We're Bakuran."

They searched and found a short queue with two gray-clad security officers checking idents manually. Both wore profoundly bored expressions, even when an alarm went off and two more grey-uniformed men escorted an alien off info a distant set of offices.

When their turn came, Harry presented a blank piece of flimsiplast to the guard. "Name?" he asked, checking the material.

"James and Lily Evans."

"Strange names," the man noted.

"It's my parents fault," Harry said with a smirk.

"Yes, it usually is," the guard said. "What flight?"

"Bakura."

"Very well, you may pass."

The two stepped past the scanners. Harry cursed himself when they went off. Almost immediately two more grey-suited men stepped toward them. "Sir, madam, would you come with us?"

"Of course," Harry said smoothly.

They left the queue. Harry paused halfway to the far offices, though, and said, "Excuse me, where are we going?"

The guards turned and stared absently for a moment, as if just then noticing Harry and Mara. "What are you doing here?"

"We got lost," Harry said. "I'm sorry, we were looking for a bath…"

"Fresher," Mara interjected.

"Oops, yes, a fresher. Different world, different names. We thought you might know."

"Facilities are down the concourse," the guard said. "Go about your business. This is a secure area."

"My apologies, thank you for your help," Harry said. He took Mara's hand, and the two started up the concourse.

"What did you do to them?"

"I confused them and removed the memory of the security alert," Harry said.

"You can do that?"

"Yep, but only to people. The computers around here may try to stop us, so keep your wits about you."

Mara for her part was doing just that. She was studying each and every person around the concourse carefully. She had already spotted at least a dozen Imperial Security Bureau agents, two Inquisitors and at least two dozen naval intelligence officers. That was on top of the heavy security presence already there.

"They're looking for us."

"No, they're looking for two escapees. We're James and Lily."

"Who were they?"

"My parents."

"Oh."

They continued down the concourse until they reached a queue to purchase tickets. They decided against Bakura, though, and instead Mara used her credits to purchase passage to Alderaan.

Only when they were moving did she tell him why. "The Viceroy of Alderaan is one of the founders of the Rebellion. There's a good chance his people will know how to direct us."

"Good thinking again," Harry said. "Will this ship have private quarters?"

Mara gave him a blushing, knowing smile. "I made sure we had one. This is sort of our honeymoon, after all."

Harry laughed and kissed her hard as they joined the line of people going to Alderaan.


	6. Flight to Alderaan

Chap 5 Review Responses are available on my forums. Since the link is still broken, the URL is in my profile. Thanks.

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**Chapter Six: Flight to Alderaan **

Though they kept up the glamour in front of other people, once in their cabin Harry let the illusions drop. "Frankly I enjoy looking at you too much to keep the glamour up," he confessed.

Almost before the ship even made orbit, they were making love on the spacious bed allotted to them as a married couple. Mara reveled in the freedom she felt with Harry. He was as gentle or as rough as she wanted, and seemed willing to try anything she could think of.

What astounded her, though, was his ability to keep going. She knew enough to know that the average human male should not have been able to go as often or as energetically as Harry, and yet he never hesitated and always finished.

"It's a part of my magic," he told her when she mentioned it. "As bad as it sounds, I am an actual love machine."

"So that's why you need five wives?" she said.

Harry smiled at her, but then touched her temple. "You're tired."

"Well, who could blame me?"

"Mara, you shouldn't be tired with me. Not like this. I'm already starting to drain you."

Though she wanted to deny it, in the end she could not. She did feel a strange drain in addition to the happiness he gave her. "Will it kill me?"

"No, I'll shut the bond off before it does that. But it will leave me weakened, and would eventually kill me."

She said nothing and held him closer. "Alderaan will hold the answers," she said, though it sounded much like a prayer.

It was only a two day flight, and Harry and Mara kept to the cabin the entire time. They did not spend the entire time having sex. Rather, they lounged together and Harry told her stories of another galaxy, and the adventures he had in the course of his many lives.

He was a gifted story teller, and the stories did not suffer at all by the flashes of memory he gave her as he spoke. It seemed like hardly any time had passed before they arrived at their destination. From their port window, Harry looked at the world in appreciation. "It's beautiful," he said.

"It's one of the older Core Worlds, but they instituted emigration restrictions a long time ago to keep their population under control."

The world was filled with blues, greens and whites. The landmasses were covered by verdant forests and grasslands, while further north polar ice shone brightly under the light of a yellow-white star. The huge transport lumbered clumsily through the atmosphere of the planet until they broke through a layer of scattered clouds and saw a fairy-tale city of gleaming white towers and broad avenues lined by blue-green grass and tall, graceful trees.

The spaceport did not share the rest of the planet's beauty, in large part because of the presence of stormtroopers at every security checkpoint. Once again they pretended to be an older Bakuran couple and once more Harry set off the alarm. He again confounded the agents sent to interrogate he and Mara, and the two walked out of the spaceport into a brisk day. The scattered clouds threw a jigsaw pattern of light and shadow over the city that made it that much more breathtaking.

"Well, we made it," Harry said. "Any ideas?"

"I don't think we can just walk up to the Palace and ask to speak with the Viceroy. He's essentially under house arrest anyway. Only his position and prestige has kept the Emperor from killing him outright."

They walked casually down the boulevards, trying their best to ignore the occasional storm trooper. Mara noticed how the native Alderaanians glared at the soldiers. The air was alive with tension and resentment.

Eventually they came to a small side-walk topcaf and stopped for a light meal. Around them, Alderaanians and furry beings Mara told him were Camaasi watched a local broadcast. The speaker was Bail Organa himself, calling on all Alderaan citizens to be respectful of their off world visitors.

"There have been riots," Mara noted quietly. "The presence of the Empire has not been received well here."

Harry nodded as he sipped this eon's answer to coffee. "Tell me what you know about Organa."

"He was a senator before the Republic fell."

"That was when?"

"Nineteen years ago. He was reputed to be friends with the Jedi Council, but somehow he survived the transition. But last year he got caught with Garm Bel Iblis and Mon Mothma forming the Rebellion, and now he's under virtual house arrest here. If he leaves the palace, he is subject to arrest. If he leaves the planet, the Empire would kill him outright."

"Hard to live with a price on one's head," Harry noted. "Is he a good man?"

Mara shrugged. "I don't know, Harry. I'm…everything I know I learned through my master's perception. But if you believe in opposites then Organa is opposite of my master."

"He's not your master any more, Mara."

"I know. It's hard to just throw away your past, though."

He took her hand and squeezed. "I know, love."

They remained at the bistro table, sipping caf and watching the broadcasts in the hope of getting to know the world better, when two very fit looking people—a man and women in their late twenties, joined them unexpectedly.

"Hello there," Harry said without blinking. "What can we do for you?"

The man very subtly shifted his body to reveal a small blaster. "The walls have ears," he said. "And they don't like what they've heard."

Harry pursed his lips. "That is about the stupidest thing I've heard. Walls do not have ears. Spies and eavesdroppers do. And I'm fairly certain the walls don't give a flying rat's ass what we say."

The man's eyes flared, but the woman seemed calmer. "You had better come with us," she said.

"Or what?" Mara demanded. Her own training was coming through.

Harry, though, was staring at the man and grinned suddenly. The man blinked in confusion. "It's okay, dear," Harry said. "Feln, Aris, it is a pleasure to see you again. Don't you recognize our friends from our last visit, dear?"

Mara looked from one confused face to another, but quickly caught on. "I must be tired. My years catching up to me." Both were still glamoured.

Harry snorted. "Well, it's so good to see you both. Why don't we go back to your place and catch up."

The two agents appeared completely off-guard, but stood with Harry and Mara. They kept their hands in their pockets while Harry and Mara held hands openly. The four of them walked down the promenade until they found an enclosed speeder waiting for them.

Harry led the way in first and settled down. He held out his arm, and Mara accepted the invitation to snuggle tightly next to him. It was still strange and wonderful that anyone wanted to hold her so close. The two armed spies climbed in and sat on a bench opposite them. The driver was not visible through the tinted backing.

Moments later, they were moving.

"Well, let's get down to business. Mara, this is Feln Pattersol, and this is Aris Delyn. They are Alderaanian Security Agents working directly for Bail Organa."

The man's eyes bulged again. "You see well informed," Aris noted coolly. She removed her blaster and kept it in her hand on her lap.

"Feln's mind is particularly vulnerable," Harry shrugged. "Meanwhile, Feln, Aris, this is Mara Jade Potter, my wife of…how many days?"

"This is day three, I think."

"Three days," Harry said with a nod. "By the way, sweetie, I should warn you that I am really not good with anniversaries. I'm so old that time just sort of flies by sometimes. Please don't hold it against me, and feel free to drop reminders."

"Who are you?" Aris demanded, cutting him off.

"Well, I was getting to that. This is Mara Jade Potter, and I am Harry Potter. Nice to meet you."

"What are you doing on Alderaan?" Feln demanded.

"Looking for the Rebellion," Mara said.

"To do what?" Aris asked.

"Fight? Play pinochle? Who knows?" Harry said. "I'm by necessity polygamous myself, so maybe I'm just looking for another wife. Know any single, Force-strong women looking for a man?"

"You're talking pretty bravely for a man facing two blasters," Feln said.

"What blasters? Those look like fish to me."

Feln and Aris looked down, and both screamed when they saw fish in their hands. Not only that, but the fish were flopping about very much alive. Harry held out his hand, and the two animals flew into his fingers. They were blasters again before they reached him.

"Love that trick," he muttered. Absently, he handed one to Mara while examining the other. Feln and Aris stared in open horror. "Interesting. Particle beam weapon?"

"It's a blaster," Mara explained. "It uses tibanna gas to compress the particles into a bolt of energy. It's several orders of magnitude more powerful than old-style lasers."

"Very elegant," Harry approved. He looked up at the two stunned agents. "Oh, I'm sorry. Here you go." He tossed the weapon back. Mara looked disappointed. "But…"

"Sweetie, you were trained by Darth Vader and his master. Are you telling me you couldn't kill them both before they got a shot off?"

"It's still stupid to give a gun back to a potential threat."

Harry grinned. "They're not threats. They're working for someone we need as an ally. Consider it a step of trust."

Against her better judgment, Mara grudgingly handed the weapon back to Aris.

Harry settled back. "So, dark rooms and bright lights for interrogation, or do you think we could just talk to this Bail Organa directly?"

The two agents shared a long, confused look. "We need to blindfold you," Aris finally said. "For our own security."

Harry shrugged. "That's fine."

He leaned forward and allowed himself to be blindfolded. Then, still in the blindfold, he turned and grinned at Mara. "Don't worry dear. We'll be fine."

Mara submitted to the process, but was obviously not happy about it.

They drove to a very large convention center that was closed for renovation. Despite the closure notice, the garage security door slid up easily enough to admit them. They walked to a lift and moments later were heading down. In the elevator, Harry started whistling a jaunty little tune. The moment the lift opened Harry led the way, still in his blindfold and holding Mara's hand.

Around them, people in the gray slacks, blue shirts, black vests and white helmets of Alliance soldiers stopped and stared as a young blind-folded man led an equally blind-folded young woman confidently through the crowded maze of cubicles and boxes of supplies with two confused agents following after. The young man made a point of nodding politely to the soldiers as if he could see them just fine, until he arrived at a large briefing room. He finally stopped and turned to the two agents.

"You can see," Aris accused.

"Yep. But the blindfold made you feel better, right? I'm assuming this is where you want us to wait? I understand the Viceroy is a busy man, otherwise I'd just go knocking."

Aris sighed in defeat. "Yes, fine, go in."

They entered the room and Harry removed both his and Mara's blindfold. The two agents gaped. "You both changed!"

"Well, yeah," Harry said as if it were obvious, which of course it was. "The Emperor was after us. I stole Mara from him and turns out he's the jealous and over-possessive type."

Mara couldn't help the girlish giggle. "I can't believe you talk about him like that."

"The privileges of age," Harry said. He took a seat on the interrogator's side of the table with Mara beside him. "So, do you need to try and beat us up and soften us first, or can we talk to someone in charge?"

Feln grunted, turned and walked out in frustration. "We'll see," was all Aris could say before she turned and left as well.

"They're watching us," Mara said.

"Yep. I'm half tempted to rip your clothes off and give them a show."

Mara looked scandalized. "You wouldn't!"

"Only because it would make you uncomfortable," Harry said with a shrug. "After you've been married as many times as I have, sex isn't quite the taboo subject most societies make it out to be. Did you know during a thousand year period I was actually worshiped as a fertility god by a good portion of my home galaxy? I had like five hundred trillion followers at one point. I was rebirthed twenty times during that period just because women wanted to bear my children." He sighed. "Those were good times."

Mara shook her head. "That is insane."

"Yeah, I know. Was still fun, though. Public sex marathons. I think that's why they kept calling me back. I could go forever, and it drove them nuts that they couldn't keep up. I think our record was four straight weeks pausing only for food, water, and facilities before I just got bored."

"No sleep?"

"Nope. Didn't need it, really."

"You're not just telling me this because they're listening, aren't you?"

"Well, maybe. One of our listeners, Ari, I think his name is, has a very small penis and has been having adequacy issues with his girlfriend."

They heard a loud thump from the wall behind them. Harry grinned. "Oops. Guess I shouldn't have said that out loud, huh?"

A moment later the door opened and a grizzled, heavily scarred man with a top-knot of white hair and a cylinder at his waist walked in. He was scowling, but his most telling feature was a pair of metallic eyes.

He sat down facing the two of them. "Who the hell are you?" he said abruptly.

"Is this Ari?" Mara whispered.

"No, this is Rahm Kota."

"Who's that?" Mara said, though she knew very well who he was.

Harry knew she knew and rolled with it. "An old guy with really cool-looking eyes."

Kota slammed both hands on the table. "Stop it! Who in the Corellian hells are you people? How do you know who I am?"

"I'm Harry, and this is my wife, Mara. Nice to meet you."

Kota's metallic eyes narrowed. "Mara. As in Mara Jade?"

"Mara Jade Potter, now," she corrected him.

"The Emperor has placed an Empire-wide capture notice for you and your companion." He looked at Harry. "How did you know who I am?"

"Ari's adequacy issues are just one of his problems. His brain is like a sieve."

"Are you Jedi?"

"I don't think so."

Kota looked back to Mara. "Are you?"

"I was trained by Sith, but I am neither Sith nor Jedi."

Kota shook his head and made a show of rubbing his scarred visage. "My people tell me you made them think their blasters were fish. How did you do that?"

Harry smiled. "By turning their blasters into fish."

Kota stood up and stalked around the room. "Do you think this is a game? People are dying!"

Harry shrugged. "People die all the time. I've died a thousand times myself. It's not so bad once your leave the body. But all that said, we came here because we can offer your Alliance something, and in return we can get something as well."

"What can you offer the Alliance?"

"Well, I was thinking about killing Palpatine and his pets," Harry said.

Kota snorted. "Yeah, me too. Let me know how you fare on that."

"You're the Jedi General who helped Marek, aren't you?" Mara said. "My mast…my former master was furious with you for that."

Kota slowed. "Your master? You're Palpatine's servant?"

"She was, until I stole her away to be my wife," Harry said. "She was too good for him."

Mara blushed and fought an urge to laugh.

"Who are you?" he finally asked.

Harry shrugged, but Mara, perhaps sensing the general's frustration, said, "He's a Celestial, General."

Kota stopped cold. "What?"

"The Emperor found a ritual that would bring a Celestial back to life. He performed the ritual, and Harry emerged from a stone we found on the rocky surface of Coruscant."

"Celestial?"

Harry shrugged. "We called ourselves Mages, but then again that was kind of a dark period in the galaxy so I understand why we'd be forgotten."

Kota looked from one face to the other before shaking his head and slumping into the chair. "A Celestial, huh?"

Mara quickly told the general about the ritual while Harry listened on sadly. When she was done, Kota was tapping his chin thoughtfully. "We knew about the dig," he finally confessed. "We just didn't know what he was actually after. Why would he try to pull up a Celestial?"

"He was hoping for a secret to immortality and power," Mara said.

"Why?"

"Probably because I'm sort of immortal, and I'm really powerful," Harry said. "Just a guess, of course."

"Can you prove it?"

"That I'm immortal?" Harry laughed. "I said sorta. You could kill me, but then you'd have to find five powerful, virtuous women to perform the ritual again to revive me, and from what I understand that would be difficult since the heartstone is buried again."

"What about power?"

"I'm about at one-fifth power right now," Harry confessed. "Enough to do a few cheap parlor tricks on a local level, but nothing too amazing. In order for me to be a threat to the Emperor, I need all five anchors to secure my soul to this body."

"Anchors?"

"Wives," Mara said.

Kota stared at her. "You're kidding."

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Mara snapped.

"No, you look like you're just a kid."

"She is," Harry said. "A smart, skilled, talented, beautiful young woman who by the grace of magic and desperate need is now my wife. But the task of keeping my soul anchored is draining her. So, we have two choices. I sever the bond and die, leaving her miserable for life and likely to turn to the Dark Side in despair, or I find four more anchors so that instead of draining the women, they are fulfilled and made powerful."

"This is above my paygrade," Kota muttered. "Fine, I'll let you talk to Bail. But we're going to have every gun in the place on you."

"Sounds fun," Harry said with a grin.


	7. Viceroys, Princesses, Droids, Oh My!

Chapter six reviews can be found in my forums. Due to ff dot net losing the link the URL is in my profile. Thank you for reading.

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**Chapter Seven: Viceroys, Princesses, Droids, Oh My!**

The first thing Mara thought when she met the infamous Bail Organa was that here was what leadership was supposed to be.

The Viceroy of Alderaan stood tall and proud, but without the arrogance that often lined her old master's face. Rather, he was somber and thoughtful. Care had worn at his features, but rather than make him look old, the worry made him look more distinguished and noble. With a lifetime of dislike beaten into her, she nonetheless decided she liked him.

Harry shook the man's hand energetically. "Nice to meet you! I'm Harry. This is Mara. I'm a two-million year old wizard, and she's a Sith-trained former Imperial assassin and my wife. How are you?"

It was a mark of just how mature and confident he was that Bail did not turn and run away immediately. Instead, he nodded, smiled and said, "Rahm warned me you were different. Please, have a seat and join me for lunch."

"Sounds good," Harry said. He and Mara sat at a small, intimate table. The Jedi General joined them moments later, and a few minutes after that a droid brought out a tray filled with food. Harry tore in without hesitation, so much so even Mara was a bit surprised.

He paused and looked not at his hosts, but at her. "Mara, remember what I told you about changing? Your calorie requirements have just tripled. You need to eat. Don't worry about gaining weight—your new metabolism will burn it off much faster than you ever imagined. It takes a lot of food to make a fat mage."

He nodded to Bail and continued eating with abandon. Bail picked daintily at his food, though Kota shrugged and dug in as well.

When Harry was done with his second serving, he leaned back and grinned. "That was delicious," he said. "Thank you."

Mara stopped as well. "I can't believe I just ate all that," she admitted.

"Like I said, you're not really human any more, so don't think like one."

"And what is she, Mr. Potter?" Bail finally asked.

"Well, in my youth she would have been referred to as a witch. Not in a derogatory fashion, but simply because that's what she now is. The more recent term is Mage. Mara and I have a bond by which we share power, emotions and sometimes thoughts. This bond serves as an anchor to keep my soul in this body. While this bond is changing her info a full-fledged Mage, my soul is sufficiently powerful that it is too much for just one women to hold onto, so the effort is draining her. If left unchecked, it could over the course of a few weeks kill her, if I allowed it to go that far. Naturally, I'd let myself die before that happened."

"General Kota mentioned five wives?"

"The effect of the bonds by which they anchor me is a deeply intimate and emotional connection so intense that it almost always leads to physical affection. In my culture, such emotional and physical ties are consecrated by marriage. The fact I need five is a rather long story even by my standards."

"Amazing," Bail whispered. "You honestly believe you are a Celestial?"

Harry shrugged. "What's in a name? I've been known by many names. Wizard, messiah, Lord of Light, Forever Mage—I admit that is kind of my favorite. Raging lunatic, son of a bitch, fly in the ointment. But in the end I'm still just Harry Potter. For every race I've saved, there was one I failed. For every battle I won, there was another I lost. The only difference is that I kept getting pulled back from beyond the veil to fight the good fight. I learn with each incarnation. I grow more powerful. But in the end I'm still the slightly pathetic, moody, irritable git I used to be. And that is the final reason why I need women in my life. Even if I didn't need the anchors or the bonds, without them I could easily become the most evil, cold-hearted bastard you ever imagined. Think of it like a cosmic balance. My wives anchor my soul, my life and my will. In return I give them insane amounts of happiness and power."

Beside him, Mara's blush was bright enough to light the table.

"So what is it you want of us, and what are you offering in return?"

"I need to find four more powerful women like Mara."

"Force-strong," Mara said.

Bail's eyes widened. "For your wives?"

"Yep. To be honest, if I got to be picky I'd pick the ones who would most benefit from the bond. Like Mara, here. She was held in a house of lies by a monster who was feeding off her light and goodness like a vampire. By freeing her, I gave her an opportunity for the first time in her life to be truly happy."

Mara compulsively took his hand.

Bail did not fail to notice. "Would these women have no choice but to bond with you?"

Harry shrugged. "Honestly, it's pretty hard to resist the bond, but it can be done. I'll admit in Mara's case I was dying otherwise I would never have even touched her mind. In fact, I was more than happy to die to keep old Leather Face and Dark Codpiece from getting whatever they wanted with me, but when I touched her soul I realized who she was. That she was so much like me she didn't deserve to be held there. So I opened up the bond and let her choose."

"And with others?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm two million years old and I'm still not so good on the pick-up lines. But I will say that I have a thing for strong, intelligent women. The kind of women that I could speak to and reason with and who might understand what I am and what I offer. But I'm well past the stage where I'll force a women into matrimony. Frankly, I'd rather die first."

"I told him no at first," Mara admitted, frowning at the memory. "He…he wished me luck and then stopped breathing. I could sense him leaving in the Force. He was actually dying and happy to go back to wherever his soul resided. I realized I didn't want to go on without him."

"And so she is the first anchor," Harry said, smiling fondly at the beautiful redhead.

Bail seemed to be considering the odd request. "You would need a ship, I assume?"

"Might be helpful," Harry said.

"I had a Skipray, but we used it as a decoy to escape Imperial Center," Mara said. "I'm a rated pilot on just about anything that flies."

"There's always the _Tantive_," Kota pointed out.

"No offense to present company," Bail said, "but I believe I am going to keep my daughter's ship out of this."

Mara snickered. Harry, though, nodded. "Probably a good idea. But it's more than a ship. I need to know where to go. As much as I would like to pretend, I'm not omniscient. I don't know how to find Force-strong women, and I'm not willing to risk Mara's well being by taking too much time."

"Mr. Potter, the only Force-strong woman whose location I know for sure is most likely not interested in any capacity in being your wife. More likely she would tie you up and try to kill you."

"In the right circumstances, that can be fun," Harry said, batting his lashes outrageously. "Tell me more."

"Maris Brood was a survivor of the Jedi Purge. One of the last survivors of the High Council took her as a padawan and hid on Felucia. When Galen Marek killed her master while still serving Vader, Brood fell to the Dark Side. She's been twisted by hate and fear."

"There's also an Imperial facility on Felucia now," Mara noted.

"How old is she?" Harry asked.

"I believe she was only a child when the Purge happened, so I would think she's in her mid to late twenties."

"Not too old," Harry muttered. "Usually if they hit thirty draped in darkness they won't see the light again. Not always, but that's usually the way it is."

"Mr. Potter, she is a trained Jedi. She almost killed me and fought Darth Vader's apprentice almost to a standstill. She's gone native."

"Is she pretty?" Mara asked.

"Northern Zabrak," Bail said with a shrug. "I didn't really have a chance to think about how attractive she was since she was kidnapping me at the time."

Mara shrugged. "If you had come to the palace and my master ordered me to, I would have killed you without hesitation."

"Sometimes the bad girls are the best," Harry grinned. "If nothing else, it sounds like this Maris Brood may need help. So, about a ship?"

"What does the Alliance get out of all of this?" Kota demanded.

"Me."

"What does that mean?" Kota said. "What can you actually do for us?"

"Right now, not a whole lot. But at full power…" Harry's eyes went distant. "I've overthrown empires. I've destroyed stars. I've killed truly immortal, omnipotent beings in a war that shattered galaxies." He grinned. "Plus I'm told I have a lovely singing voice."

Kota and Bail were both staring at him with their lips parted in surprise. "Well," Organa said at first, "the Alliance could certainly use some help, that much is certain. The Empire is relentless in their pursuit. I do have an old Nubian J-type star skiff that I've kept in good working order for…sentimental reasons."

Mara's eyes took on a hungry gleam. "Where did you get one of those?"

"I was good friends with a former queen of Naboo," Bail said.

Harry happened to be looking at the man and smiled. "Viceroy, be careful with your thoughts. I was around old leatherface long enough to know that if I can see what you're thinking, so can he."

Bail blanched the color of bone. "Indeed," he managed to say.

Harry leaned back. "So, Mara, is this a good ship he's offering?"

"Not heavily armed, but among the fastest ships of its kind ever made," Mara said. "The Nubian ships were designed by the Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps specifically for Naboo Royalty. I've always wanted to fly one."

Harry nodded. "Then we'll take it with our thanks," Harry said. "Do you have any type of subspace communications?"

"I'm not sure about subspace, but the holonet allows for instantaneous communications across the galaxy," Bail said. "But it is dangerous to try and contact me directly. That said, if it is all the same…I would like to have an agent go with you."

He turned to Kota, who shrugged. "She's not Force sensitive as far as I know," Kota said to the Viceroy. "But I haven't taken a midi-chlorian count of her, either."

"Please ask her to join us."

Kota nodded and left the room.

"Her?" Harry asked.

"Winter. One of my best up-and-coming agents. She has eidetic memory and knows how to contact the Alliance in an emergency. And she is not Force-sensitive."

A few minutes later Kota walked in followed by a striking young woman with pure-white hair and startlingly gray eyes.

"Harry!" Mara said urgently, shaking his arm.

"Winter!" Harry said.

"What?" Winter asked, blinking in confusion.

"Harry, can you feel it?" Mara asked.

Harry turned and gave Mara a look. She blew a strange of red-gold hair from her eyes and sighed. "Yes, I know, of course you can. But still!"

"What is going on?" Winter asked.

Kota, though, was shaking his head. "Never mind, Winter. Leave now, while you can."

"What is going on?" Bail asked.

"She is Force sensitive," Kota guessed.

"Even better than that," Harry said, grinning. "She's a full-fledged witch."

"And your mother was a whore to a gundark," Winter snapped back. "Bail, what is going on here? Why did you call me?"

"Can you do the midi-chlorian test on her?" Harry asked Kota.

"Sure, fine, whatever," Kota said as he left the room.

Harry turned to Winter and stood up. "My apologies for the confusion. My name is Harry Potter. This is my wife Mara. A pleasure to meet you."

Winter took his hand absently, but then froze as her gray eyes widened. "Do I know you?"

"Yes, in a way. But before we explain I would like to know if you have any midi-chlorians in your blood."

Kota returned a moment later with a hand-held sensor. "Agent Winter, please hold still. This will only take a moment." He pressed it to the back of her hand. She did not even wince. Kota looked at it for a moment before shaking his head. "This is impossible. She doesn't have any midi-chlorians at all."

"Neither do I," Harry grinned. "And Mara's are dying off very quickly."

"Would some one please tell me what is going on!" Winter demanded.

Harry sat down and looked long and hard at her. Both Bail and Kota noticed how his gaze made spots of color appear on her cheeks. "Well, to put it mildly, you appear to be a genetic throwback. Congratulations."

The color spread. "I don't appreciate your sense of humor."

"Who says I'm joking? You're a genetic throwback to the Celestials who brought humanity to this galaxy. You're a natural-born Mage."

"How?" Mara asked. "You said your people died out a million years ago."

"Mages emerged from human stock," Harry said with a shrug. "An evolutionary mutation. All humans had the potential to become witches and wizards, but only a small number actually did so. But every once in a while a child would be born with the active gene. If they were exposed to anaphasic energy, that gene would activate. Tell me, Winter, did strange things ever happen around you as a child?"

Winter looked quickly at Bail, who paled. "It couldn't have been her."

Harry looked at Mara. "You were Force-strong. Did you ever have Force-accidents as a child?"

"No," Mara said. "We might do something with the Force, but it was usually an act of will."

"Mage children were sufficiently powerful that their magic would sometimes slip and cause accidents," Harry said. "Accidental magic. For instance, as a child I accidentally teleported to the roof of my school, caused the hair of a mean teacher to turn blue and kept my hair the same length no matter how many times my aunt cut it. I had abusive guardians who could never explain why my broken bones and cuts and bruises healed so fast. How 'bout you, Winter? The whole galaxy has been deluged with anaphasic radiation for a million years, so you've been exposed. Any accidental magic?"

"A few things may have happened," she admitted hesitantly, "but we never thought it was me."

"It was," Harry assured her. "Midi-chlorians allow humans to touch the merest surface of true power. But you, Winter, have the ability to access it in ways these Jedi or Sith can't even imagine."

He grinned at Bail. "Well, that was serendipitous. I'll take her!"

"Take me where!" Winter said.

"I'm wife hunting," Harry said. He winked at her.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

The star skiff was beautiful. It looked like a classic, something collectors would want to keep. It was sleek and dangerous while still elegant. It was also large. As Harry, Winter and Mara walked up the ramp, Harry couldn't help but feel the psychic residue of hard memories. The ship had seen much pain.

Winter walked along with them in a state of confusion. He knew her native magic was responding to his core, but he also knew that her will was sufficiently strong enough that she could withstand the pull for as long as she wanted. She reminded him much more of his last wives than of his first.

Mara was ecstatic. Her own burgeoning magical core could feel the power in Winter and was forming its own bond through Harry. He tried not to think about what it would do to his young wife if Winter rejected the both of them.

While the ship was being prepped, Mara asked Harry repeatedly if he was going to bond with her. "Mara, it's not that simple."

"It was with me, wasn't it?"

He held both her hands and stared into her eyes. "You were in a bad place surrounded by evil. My bond offered you a way to break free. But Winter is not unhappy. She loves Bail as a father figure and has no desire to engage in any relationship. If she chooses to explore the bond, I will, but I don't want to force it on her."

Mara blew her hair from her eyes. "She's so perfect, though!"

"She is," he admitted. "Her magic feels strong and vibrant, and I suspect she would be a good counterpoint to you. But we can't force this, Mara. Please, promise me you won't try."

"Fine!"

They ate one more meal with Organa and Kota before they left. Bail spent the meal detailing the history of the Jedi and the betrayal that led to their destruction. After that, they walked on board the skiff and were soon flying out.

Winter flew with deft hands and a sure eye. Mara sat as co-pilot, while Harry lounged behind her in the redundant navigation station. Within an hour of the flight, in which the three of them said nothing, Mara slumped in her chair, snoring softly.

"About time," Harry muttered. With Winter watching with one raised, elegant white brow, Harry gently lifted the sleeping Mara from the seat and then sat down himself still holding her. She murmured something as she snuggled against his chest. He then sat back down with her cradled on his lap, holding her as if she were a child.

"If you're as old as you say, aren't you too old for her?"

"By that logic I'm too old for the oldest human female alive," he said. "Biologically I'm seventeen. I admit she's a little younger than I would have preferred, but she needed to get away from the Emperor and I needed her."

Winter nodded. "She must have had a hard day."

"I'm draining her of her power," Harry said sadly. "The ritual was never designed to be anchored by one witch only. She's strong, but not that strong."

Gently he ran a finger through those lovely locks.

"I don't believe any of this, you know," Winter said coldly. "I can't imagine how you convinced Bail."

Harry shrugged. "I feel familiar to you, don't I? It's more than a feeling that you've seen me before. You feel like I should be family to you. That I've always been a part of your life even though you've never seen me before."

Winter said nothing at first. She stared into the swirling tunnel of hyperspace. "How could you possibly know that?"

"I died the first time when I was sixteen. I died the second when I was in my sixties. But the next time I was reborn was four hundred years later. I woke to a world where all the mages had died out. But the girls who did the ceremony were all like you. They all had full mage genes. And because we were the only ones of our kind in the world, our magic pulled us together. We felt right around each other in a way we felt with no one else. That's what you're feeling right now. You've never encountered your own kind before, until now. And I am willing to bet you feel something similar for Mara as well."

"Is she like us?"

"She's becoming like us. These midi-chlorians were created to protect living organisms from anaphasic radiation. But you and I are beings of anaphasic energy. We don't need the midi-chlorians. And soon she won't either."

They had told Winter the story of Harry's rebirth and why he needed five wives. She knew why they reacted to her the way they did. "You want me as one of your wives."

"It would be nice," Harry said honestly. "The fact that you are already a genetic Mage is astounding to me. There were only a handful of us left, and by the time we had to start moving inhabited worlds to this galaxy, the Mages were so far evolved that they were scarcely recognizable. I was a primitive monkey compared to them. But a monkey with DNA they needed and a magical core on par with theirs."

"Everything you say just seems so impossible."

"I know."

She shook her head and looked out of window again. "So what would being your wife entail?"

"You'd experience a significant power boost along with the training on how to use it. We'll need to find a focus of some kind, but if necessary you can learn to use the power without. Toward the end of their existence Magi did not need wands at all, and I know enough from those lives to teach you."

"What else? Do I have to honor and obey?"

Harry snorted. "Hardly. One of the jobs of my wives is to kick my ass when I start doing something stupid."

"What happened to the wise-all knowing immortal?"

"He's stuck in a seventeen-year-old body just brimming with testosterone. And I may have been around for a long time, but that doesn't make me smart. I may claim some smattering of wisdom based on experience, but I'm no smarter now than I was when I died the first time. That's why I like to surround myself with smart women."

"And if I understand it, we're going to Felucia to get you another wife?"

"Maybe. We'll have to see if she is open to the idea."

Winter looked long and hard at him. "You could force me, couldn't you? You could make me so drunk on happiness I'd have no choice but to be your adoring little wife."

"Yes," Harry admitted. "I could do that. I _have_ done that in the past. But I won't. I could sense that you are content with your life. That you've known love and affection despite being an orphan. You're obviously well thought of by your colleagues. Bail was a good father. I'm not going to try and force anything on you. But I won't pretend I'm not interested. I need five women to anchor my soul and regain my full power. And let's face it—you're stunning. When that is done, I will be able to assist the Alliance in destroying the Emperor."

"And then?"

"And then, lots of babies."

Winter blinked. "Babies?"

"To rebuild our race. You cannot have been the only one with recessive magi genes. So we find ourselves a nice world without too many people on it, and we rebuild our race. We find those like ourselves and bring them home. And in time, we take our place in a new galaxy to make it a better place."

"You sound like it's so easy."

"It's not easy, Winter, but it can be done, because I've done it before. All I need are five powerful, smart, willing women to make it happen."

She shook her head and finally said, "The course is set. I'm going to go lay down."

When she was gone, Mara stirred in his arms. "Almost there?"

"Not yet, love."

"Hmmm." She went back to sleep, basking in the glow of their fused magic.


	8. The Lost Padawan

Review Responses for Chap 7 are on my forums. I know the link is still gone for some reason, but the URL is in my profile.

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**Chapter Eight: The Lost Padawan**

Commander Cirk Gorran stifled a groan as his AT-ST once again got wedged between the massive fungal trees that covered the planet of Felucia. "Just blast it," he said.

The pilot nodded, backed the two-legged scout walker out from the narrow space and destroyed it with the side-mounted blaster cannons. In the new space, they continued forward. Behind him a line of four more AT-STs followed, accompanied by fifty infantryman.

They were witch hunting.

The garrison on Felucia was small at best and not the most well-funded of all the posts. Felucia did not have a large or sophisticated populace—mostly Gossams who immigrated during the Clone Wars and never left.

The Empire itself merely stepped into the Confederacy of Independent System's role, taking over the CIS's capital of Kway Teow, and even garrisoning in the former CIS garrison headquarters. But unlike the CIS, the Empire did not tolerate resistance.

When the native Felucians began to attack both Gossams and human staff for the garrison, he decided enough was enough.

That's when Gorran's nightmare started.

He sent one of the garrison's three AT-ATs into the jungles to deal with the Felucians once and for all. He had yet to hear back from that AT-AT even after five months.

He sent in a squad of twenty storm troopers armed with enough firepower to take out a battalion of old CIS battle droids. Two men returned blubbering on about monsters from the shadows and a witch on a rancor.

Flyovers with TIEs were worse than useless—even the rancors that lived on the planet were invisible under the thick jungle cover.

The attacks actually grew bolder following Gorran's failed attempts to deal with it. And so here he was, leading a ground assault team into the densest part of the forest in the capital area, intent on killing anything sentient that lived.

If Gorran actually read the Moff College procedural memos, he might have seen that garrison commanders on other worlds used ground-clearing fire spray to create an interdiction zone around all habitable areas and military sites that prevented hidden attacks. While ecologically damaging, such action would have created a kilometer-wide kill zone that would have effectively ended all attacks on his facility, and protected the town plus any settlements around the city.

Sadly, Gorran was too busy playing holonet sabacc tournaments and having parties with the female contractors who came with the garrison to actually read memos. So, he instead sat in an uncomfortable AT-ST, fighting back motion sickness, as he led fifty infantrymen and another twenty men in the four AT-STs behind him into the jungle.

He had no idea where he was going.

The first clue that something was not right was the massive bull rancor that burst from the jungle wall directly in front of his AT-ST. The great beast stood as tall as the AT-ST and with one sweep of its massively clawed hand, Gorran's world turned sideways with the crashing of his scout walker.

When he came to his senses a moment later, he became aware of terrified voices screaming through the comlink in his helmet, and also of a unbearable pain in his left leg. He looked down and saw his knee bent at an unnatural angle.

"Pilot, are our weapons still active?" he asked.

He then saw that the pilot was at best unconscious, or worse, and more likely, dead. His head was turned away from his body at the same angle as Gorran's knee.

The commander popped the top hatch and dragged himself free from his safety webbing. As he emerged, he heard the sound of blaster fire and screaming soldiers, but his view was obstructed by the muddy ground he felt into.

He could not help but cry out in pain as his fall wrenched his broken knee. The cry attracted unwanted attention. With guttural grunts, Felucians swarmed around him, bipedal but almost unrecognizable as living beings because of the huge masks they wore. Webbed fingers grasped spears, bows and arrows, and newly acquired Imperial blaster rifles.

From their midst stepped the witch herself.

"You're real," Gorran whispered.

She stood before him wearing as little as the Felucians themselves—filthy leather pants and nothing else. Her face was partially covered by a smaller version of a Felucian mask, but he could still see yellow eyes staring coldly through them.

If Gorran did not have a broken leg and a small chance of survival, he might have been aroused by her bared, mud-splattered chest. But pain and the threat of impending death overwhelmed his admittedly large libido.

"Commander Gorran," the witch said in an oddly pleasant voice, "you've been a naughty boy, haven't you?"

"If you surrender now," Gorran said, "I will plead leniency for you at your trial."

"Surrender?" Her laugh chilled him. "Commander, I promise you will not plead leniency for me or anyone else. When my friends said you were here in person, I just had to see it. But now that I've seen you, the novelty has worn off. You were not a worthy opponent to begin with. But at least you'll contribute something to this world."

With that, she turned and walked away. The Felucians also backed away, seeming to melt into the air and the jungle around the fallen convoy. "Base, this is Commander Gorran," he said into his comlink, "send air pick up immediately!"

"Shuttle inbound, commander," a voice responded.

It was the last voice he ever heard.

His shattered AT-ST rattled as it rolled away, and Gorran found himself staring into the eyes of the same bull rancor that knocked his craft down. It made a satisfied grunting sound as it reached for him.

"Noooooooo!"

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Their ship was hailed the moment they emerged from hyperspace. "Unknown craft, this is Felucia Control. This is restricted space. Return to your point of origin or we will fire on you."

Winter flicked the com switch off and turned to Mara and Harry. "Well?"

Harry shrugged. "Any idea how many of them there are?"

"It's a small outpost."

"I'll handle it, then." He stepped between the two seats and toggled the switch. "Hi, Control. Hmmm, no. Bye."

"Eloquent," Winter noted dryly.

Harry settled back in his seat. "What can I say? I have a way with words." He closed his yes. "Head on down. I'll tell you where to land when we get there."

Fortunately the outpost only had two TIE fighters, and they were sufficiently far enough away not to be an immediate threat. Winter took the skiff into the atmosphere over the lush, tropical world. Harry kept his eyes closed, and both women could feel power in the air.

"There she is," he whispered. "Five hundred klicks south-southwest."

Winter adjusted her heading accordingly, until at last Harry asked her to land. They found a small clearing and brought the ship down under Winter's expert hand. When they settled, the three stepped out into the thick, humid air.

"That's going to stand out, isn't it?" Harry said. "I need to disillusion it. But I'm going to need a power boost. I'm too weak to do it myself."

He looked imploringly at Winter. "Will it mean I have to marry you?" she asked with a put-upon sigh.

"No, but it might tickle."

"Fine."

He smiled and took her hand, then joined those two hands with one of Mara's. "This will be drain on you both, and I'm sorry." He closed his eyes, and then raised his left hand toward the skiff. A moment later, it was gone.

Winter blinked. "What happened to it?"

"It's an illusion," Harry said, panting slightly. "Damn I hate being so weak."

Mara too swayed a little. Harry caught her shoulder. "Sit down, okay?"

Winter looked at the two of them with a critical eye. "I do feel tired, but not that tired."

"I told you, being the sole anchor is draining Mara," Harry said. He helped her to sit, but then looked up at Winter. "You know, you could help her without initiating the bond."

"How?"

"Will power to her. Hold her hand and just wish for the magic to go to her."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because she's a trained Sith apprentice and we're going up against a crazy Jedi padawan?"

Winter considered that a moment before nodding. She knelt down and took the younger girl's hand. Mara stared back, obviously exhausted. "You're beautiful," the stunning red-head said.

"Thank you," Winter said with a regal nod. "You're not so bad yourself, Red. So, bear with me, I'm not sure what I'm doing."

"I'd help, but that would probably start up the bond," Harry admitted.

Winter closed her eyes and _willed_ Mara to be stronger. After a moment, Mara's cheeks flushed and her eyes widened. "Force," she whispered. "I felt that."

Winter reared back as if struck, and Harry was quick to catch her. "That did the trick."

While Winter wilted, Mara bounded to her feet. "That's incredible."

"That's what it's supposed to feel like all the time," Harry told her. He gently helped Winter to a nearby rock to sit down. He knelt before her and smiled gently. "Thank you, Winter. You don't know what that means to us both."

Naturally, the crazy padawan chose that moment to attack.

The forests of huge fungus-like trees parted before a monstrosity. Whatever Mara was about to say died in the back of her throat.

"Wow, that's ugly," Harry muttered.

"It's a rancor," Winter whispered through her exhaustion. "A bull rancor."

A moment later, the three of them noticed the lithe figure standing beside the rancor, within a meter of its huge foot.

The woman looked savage. She wore little more than torn leather pants that served to cover her sex. She did not bother covering her chest or stomach, though she was so caked in mud and filth she had little need to. Her hair hung in clumped black braids around her neck like a necklace. She had the black hair, red horns and yellow eyes, but with milky white skin.

"Hmm, she is quite pretty," Harry decided.

The Rancor roared and charged forward. "Harry, I can't take that thing by myself," Mara said urgently.

"It's sentient," Harry noted. He stared long and hard at the beast. Its roars lessened and its charge slowed, until finally it came to a stop a meter or so away. Harry stood and walked to stand right in front of the beast's massive horns.

"Winter, Mara's core isn't far enough along, but you might sense it. Do you feel the magic in this creature?"

"I feel something," Winter admitted, still weak.

Gently Harry caressed the horn. "Such a fierce appearance, and yet it is gentle with family and those it considers herd."

The beast grumbled but did not attack. By then the figure that must have been Maris Brood arrived.

"What are you doing?" she screamed angrily. She was holding a pair of guard shoto lightsabers. Both were lit with deadly red blades. "Leave him alone."

Harry looked from the great rancor to Brood. "He likes you very much, but he does wish you would take a mate."

Brood's yellow eyes widened with anger and insanity. "Who are you?"

"A suitor?" Harry said.

"Lies," she snarled. He doubted she even heard. "I won't let you hurt me!"

The attack was sudden and vicious. She moved fast enough to even make Harry blink in surprise. If not for Mara, it's possible one of those blades would have pierced his defenses. As it was, Mara's training jumped to the fore. She flew across the mud and intercepted Brood's strike with her longer red lightsaber.

Brood somersaulted away. "Sith! I knew it!"

"You're blades are red too," Mara pointed out.

Harry for his part petted the animal's tusk and then watched as it lumbered away, grumbling to itself. When the beast was gone, he walked into the clearing where Mara and Brood faced each other. He walked to within a few feet of both.

"Well, it's a good time to get to know each other. Maris, my name is Harry Potter and this is my wife Mara Jade Potter. Over there is Winter. I'd love to say she was my wife too, but she's not really that interested at the moment. And of course you're a crazy former padawan with a gorgeous body and the sexiest horns I think I have seen in a million years. Are they ticklish?"

Maris blinked in complete confusion. "Are you Inquisitorius?"

"Me? No, I'm Church of England. Sort of. A long time ago, maybe. Anyway, I need five wives of power and virtue. Mara was the first, and I can say she is absolutely marvelous. But it's been hard for her by herself. She needs some sister wives, four in fact. I'm hoping you might want to be one."

Maris dropped her guard. "Are you insane?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Why in the Force's name would I want to be married at all?"

"You have no idea," Mara muttered with a flaming blush.

"But you could," Harry said. "I could show you what it would be like, Maris. To be my wife."

"Who are you?"

"I'm just Harry."

"Harry, would you just tell her?" Mara said. "Can't you see she's terrified?"

"I'm terrified?" Maris snarled, suddenly furious. "How would you know, little girl?"

With that, Maris disappeared. Mara spun around, looking for her, but did not see the padawan re-appear until two guard shotos deftly spun her lightsaber out of her hand. Mara fell into the mud, facing enraged yellow eyes and two red blades inches from her neck.

All frivolity left Harry's face. "Maris," He said quietly, "I came here to offer you an alternative to hate and pain. But I love Mara, and if you even think about hurting her, I will rip your soul right out of your body."

Maris looked up, and she saw something in his blazing green orbs that terrified her. She backed up a step. "What are you?"

"He's a Celestial," Mara said. "A Mage from the beginning of time. The Emperor revived him but could not control him. Harry gave me a choice of love and freedom, and I took it. It has been the most incredible thing I've ever experienced. And now he's offering that to you as well."

"A Celestial?" Maris said, still shivering from the power she saw in Harry's eyes.

"Let me show you," Harry said. "Please?"

"Show me what?"

"Love."

"Jedi do not love."

"And how did that work out for them?" Harry asked.

Maris looked around the clearing as if seeking help. "You're going to hurt me. Master Ti said they would come for me. You're going to hurt me."

"She really is scared," Mara whispered.

Harry though took a step toward the woman. She brought both blades up, but he continued anyway until he stood right before her. "Did you master teach you how to sense others?"

Cautiously, Maris nodded though she kept her weapons near his neck.

"Then sense me, child. Open your mind, and I will open mine. And you can tell me if you think I am a threat."

"You're going to hurt me," Maris whimpered.

"I'm going to save you."

Still gripping her shotos, Mara reached out with the Force. The moment she sensed his magic, her hands convulsed and she dropped both weapons into the mud. She stood trembling, as if caught in a vortex she could not escape. "What are you?" she cried. "It's so bright!"

"I am the Lord of Light," Harry said in a deep, serious tone. "The Forever Mage. I was born from love and sacrifice, and I live to serve and love those around me. I have come for you, Maris, because I have seen your soul. You've tasted pain and despair and loneliness, but there is still good in you. And so I offer you myself to you as husband and master. I offer you sister wives to love and care for you. I offer you power and learning like you've never imagined. And I offer you peace, happiness, and most importantly, family. If you just take it."

Mara pulled herself to her feet and only then noticed Winter approaching as well. Mara looked from Harry to the trembling padawan, who had much more Force training than she ever had. "Harry…"

She stopped when she felt Winter's hand on her shoulder. "Listen," Winter said.

Harry stepped closer to the trembling girl. "I also offer you this promise, Maris. That while I live, I shall never abandon you. I shall never hurt you. I will never betray you. I vow this on my soul and my magic, to forever be yours. But you must make the choice. I cannot make it for you."

"They betrayed me," Maris whispered. "Master Ti left me here alone to die."

"She gave her life so that you could live," Harry said, still in that strangely deep, authoritative tone Mara had never heard before. "She loved you so deeply she gave everything she had for you. But Maris, do you think your master would wish you to live this way? Would a master willing to give her life for you not want you to know happiness?"

"Happiness is a lie," Maris said. Her trembling grew too much and she toppled boneless to the mud. Mara started forward, but again Winter held her.

Harry stepped forward until he knelt down beside her. Gently, he lifted a hand until he rested a palm against her muddy cheek. The trembling stopped and Maris sighed as she leaned against the hand. "What is this?" she whispered in awe.

"What you are feeling is a possibility," Harry said, finally in a more normal tone of voice. "A hint of what we could share." His hand came around until his cupped her chin and lifted her face until her nose was inches from his. "Maris, I am a being of power. An ancient soul in a new body. My soul wants so badly to return to the comfort of death. For me to live I must have five anchors. Women of power and goodness. And in return, I offer you happiness and love. Not just mine, but of your sisters. Come with us. Let us love you. Let us make you happy and be your family."

She was shaking violently now as she stared up into his eyes. "It has to be a lie."

"You know it isn't."

"I've been here almost my whole life."

"Then it is time to start a new life."

"I don't think I can."

Nearby, Winter finally released Mara with a nod. The red head rushed forward until she knelt beside the bewildered and frightened padawan. "I'll help you," Mara said. "You'll be my sister! It's so wonderful, Maris. Please, please come with us."

Maris bowed her head, and then collapsed forward until her head rested on Harry's chest. Great, terrible sobs wracked her chest. Mara laid a hand on the woman's bare, filthy back between the thick strands of dirty braids. Winter stepped up behind them, watching in silence as Harry cradled the girl.

"No more tears," he whispered as he initiated the bond.

The air around them shimmered. Winter felt a rush from her stomach down to her groin as the air energized with his power. Mara blushed red and gasped. Maris's sobs turned into a low moan. Almost of their own accord, filthy white arms reached around his neck. Purple lips made moist by tears met his.

The kiss increased the shimmering of the air tenfold, leaving the other women trembling. When at last their lips parted, Mara gasped in alarm.

An entire herd of rancors surrounded them, including the huge bull. Maris looked up at the mighty beast, smiling sadly. "I think…I think it's time for me to go," she told it.

The rancor grumbled happily at her, before turning to lead his herd back into the brush. When they were gone, she looked back at Harry. "It wasn't a trick, was it?"

"No," he said. "We've bonded now, Maris. If you wish to take it the name, you would be Maris, Lady Hufflepuff."

"Hufflepuff?" she said. "What an odd name."

"It is the name of a powerful mage from before even my time. She believed in loyalty and hard work. My magic selected that line for you, Maris, because you needed both to be loyal, and to have the loyalty of those around you. Without it, you were lost. But we've found you. You're a part of a new family, and we will never leave you."

Mara stood, and then Harry. Together they helped the trembling Maris to her feet. Only then did she look down and realize she was all but naked. Rather than try to cover herself, she said, "I have nothing to wear."

Harry waved a hand and black silk cloth spun itself from the air until it covered her. Mara, having seen this before, merely nodded. Winter, though, understood this was not something even a Jedi Master could have done.

Maris simply held the cloth around her before looking up at Harry. His face was smudged with mud from her arms and her lips. "You promise to love me?"

"I can honestly say that I will love you forever, Maris. I promise this." He put an arm around her shoulder and smiled to Mara. "And you too, Mara. You were perfect."

"Thanks," Mara said. "You know, I feel a lot better already."

"I know. Let's get out of here."

He looked at the ship and just his glance caused the illusion to fall. Winter followed a step behind. "I thought you needed help with that," she said.

"I did. Now I'm at two-fifths power now," he said, smiling over his shoulder. "Imagine what it would be like at three-fifths."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

On a world similar to Felucia but half a galaxy away, a creature small in stature but huge in power opened his eyes with a start.

He did not see the darkened interior of his hut. Rather he saw the huge fungus-like trees of Felucia. He saw a human face smiling gently into the face of a troubled young padawan. He saw shimmers of brilliant white light surrounding both, and then the padawan was gone and a new being stood in her place. A being of power and hope, just like the young man.

Yoda blinked the vision away and sat up in his tiny bed. Never had he felt such power or brilliance before. He suddenly felt younger than he had in years as even the memory of that light infused him.

He knew about Maris, of course. Shaak Ti had sent him a communication before she too went into hiding. He had felt her dipping in and out of the dark side as helplessness and despair over came her. Now, though, she was not just saved from the Dark. It felt like she was permanently removed from its grasp.

Yoda slipped into a deep meditation and purposefully reached out to feel the tendrils of Force energy that permeated the galaxy. He saw possibilities forming and dying as sentient beings across the galaxy made their own choices and shaped the future. But when he looked toward Felucia, he saw all other paths being burned away by a torch of such power it left him gasping.

The future had changed. All that he and Obi-Wan had planned and hoped for was no more. Now something even more astounding was taking shape. This new future held such promise that it made Yoda's heart surge with excitement.

He examined his own feelings and realized that was exactly the case. He was excited. This brilliant white power called to him on such a basic level it seemed almost a genetic response. He _had_ to find this being. He had to find him and do everything he could to help him.

Yoda looked around the hut—he had nothing to pack. His belongings were what he created while here and were useful only to keep him alive and in relative health. It was the Force that kept him occupied, and it was through the Force that he now knew his time on this world was over.

Their hopes for Luke and Leia had changed. Leia's destiny shifted entirely, while Luke's destiny was, while still important, no longer of such galactic importance. The boy had a role to play, but not like before.

"Time it is," Yoda decided.

With nothing but the tiny green ligthsaber he kept under his bed, the ancient Jedi Master trudged through the jungle in the dead of night until he found his old ship. It was smaller than any other hyper-drive-enabled ship, but then again he was smaller than most pilots and required little to no living space. He could go many days in meditation without the need for food or water. It would be enough.

The Force would guide him as always.

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sp

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**Author's Note**: It was rightfully pointed out by one review, and comments on several other times, that people don't know who Winter is. I've said in my forums, but just to be clear, none of Harry's wives will be OCs. Every one is a canon character from the movies or Expanded Universe of Star Wars. You can visit starwars dot com to read about every one, or visit the Wookiepedia, which is actually even a little better.

Thank you for reading.


	9. Hope

Just a reminder that review responses for this and other stories can be found at: .net/myforums/Darth_Marrs/1229909/

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**Chapter Nine: Hope**

Owen Lars stepped back from the door, his face darkening. "What do you want?" he demanded brusquely.

Obi-Wan Kenobi took a shallow breath and forced a gentle smile on his face. "I have come for Luke. It is time."

Behind Owen, Beru stepped to the door. "Owen, what is it? Ben? What are you doing here?"

"Says he's come for Luke," Owen snapped before Ben had opportunity to respond.

Beru blinked. "But he's only eighteen," Beru said.

It was not the response Owen expected. He turned and stared at his wife incredulously. "What are you on about, woman?"

"Oh Owen, you knew Luke wouldn't be willing to stay here forever. Haven't you ever seen the way he stands outside at and stares up at the stars? There's too much of his father in him to be a farmer. With Biggs gone, there's just nothing here for him."

"That's what I'm worried about," Owen said. He turned back to Kenobi. "Go away. Everyone around you dies."

Kenobi did not move. The words hurt more than he wanted to admit. "Owen, how long do you think it will be before the Emperor notices a Skywalker on Tattooine?" he asked, forcing the other man to face the terrifying truth. "What do you think will happen when he or Vader discover the son of Anakin Skywalker still living? I know that Luke submitted an application for the Imperial Academy. This place is no longer safe for Luke. I'm sorry, my friend, but it is time for us to go."

"Where would you take him?" Beru asked.

"Someplace safe," Ben said. "However, for your safety you would have to report him as a runaway. Give the Emperor no reason to come here."

"He's all we have," Beru whispered. "He's been our son these many years."

"But it is time to let him go," Obi-Wan said. "He cannot become the person he is meant to be here. And I would prefer he leave freely rather than because he found the bodies of his family burned out by the Empire. Please, let me take him."

"For what?" Owen demanded. "To be what?"

"To be a Jedi," Ben said. "Like his father before him."

Owen seemed to slump in on himself. He turned and walked away from the door. Beru stepped forward, looking carefully at the old Jedi. "He's not like Anakin," Beru finally said. "He's not so angry all the time like Anakin was."

"And that is why I must take him," Ben said. "Because while he is strong in the Force as his father was, he carries within him the love and respect for life that came from his mother. I'm sorry, Beru. I know this must be hard for you."

"He's in the garage," she said. A tear gathered at the corner of her wrinkled face. Tattoine aged people so quickly, Obi-Wan thought. Just like him. Beru was still young. On Naboo, she would not have so many lines and wrinkles. The woman was not even forty yet, and yet looked fifty.

Not that he look any younger, Obi-Wan admitted. He was only fifty-six, but when he faced himself in the mirror he looked to be in his sixties. Tattooine was a harsh, demanding world.

He nodded sadly to Beru before crossing the sunken courtyard of the Skywalker home. The boy was on his back under an old T-16 sky hopper. Though Obi-Wan was never the expert at mechanics that his former padawan was, he could see that the skyhopper had been heavily modified.

"Hello, Luke," the Jedi said.

He heard a thud then a muttered curse before Luke pulled himself out from under the Skyhopper. He stared at Obi-Wan in surprise and confusion for a moment. "Ben?" he finally muttered.

It was so strange looking at Anakin's son as a young adult, for there was no doubt that Luke was grown now. Though he still had a tendency to whine that Obi-Wan found distasteful, he also had a good spirit and a desire to help. Though his eyes were those of his father, his heart seemed to have come completely from his mother. "Yes."

"Er, nice to see you again," Luke stammered. "What are you doing here? You know Uncle Owen doesn't like you very much."

"Yes, I'm aware of that," Obi-Wan said. "I've come to make you an offer, Luke, and to tell you about your father."

"My father? What about him?"

"Sit down, my boy, and I'll tell you."

An hour later, Luke looked a little stunned, but also excited as he agreed to join Obi-Wan on his travels.

Beru made her nephew a nutritious and good-tasting stew, with enough to feed Obi-Wan as well. After living on his own for so long, the meal was appreciated. "So when will you leave?" Beru asked over the table.

"We should leave first thing in the morning," Obi-Wan said. "I felt an old friend in the Force urging us to be quick, but traveling in the desert at night is not wise."

"Good to know the suns haven't fried your brains, old man," Owen said gruffly. "I'll give you both a lift to Mos Eisley in the morning."

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said.

"So, can you tell me about my mother?" Luke asked. "If dad wasn't a spice freighter pilot, hard to believe she was just a barmaid."

"No, Luke," Obi-Wan said, "Padme was far more than a mere barmaid. She was a Queen of Naboo, which was an electoral monarchy. She served two terms as queen before she accepted a post as Sector Senator. It was actually she who first appointed then Senator Palpatine to the senate, before assuming his seat four years later. She was a true hero, Luke, as much as your father."

"Does that make me a prince?" Luke said hopefully.

"No."

"Stang it," he muttered.

"Luke language!" Beru said. "And prince or not, you smell bad. Go bathe. Ben, you're welcome to stay in the guest room."

"Thank you, Beru, that would be lovely."

The next morning they left just as the first sun was rising over the desert. Owen drove the family speeder toward the city.

Obi-Wan was not particularly thrilled at the idea of traveling to Mos Eisley. The town reminded him too much of Mos Espa, the town where his master first found Anakin and started them all on the path of ruin. As they slid past the town walls into the crowded, filthy streets, he almost wished he could just purchase his own ship. Alas, the funds he was able to recover from the Jedi accounts after the Purge were limited.

The speeder came to a halt. Owen awkwardly shook Luke's hand, but did not hug him. "You're a good kid," he finally said. "I know I've been hard on you, but I just…I hoped you wouldn't end up…doing what you're doing. Take care of yourself, Boy."

"I will Uncle Owen, thank you. For everything."

Owen grunted toward Obi-Wan, tossed Luke his travel bag, then climbed back into the speeder and drove away. "You know," Luke said as he watched his uncle leave, "for some reason I thought they'd make a bigger deal about my leaving."

"You're eighteen years old, Luke. By human standards you are an adult. I imagine they've known this was coming for a while," Obi-Wan said with a patient sigh. "Let's go inside, shall we?"

The cantina they selected was loud, raucous and crowded. The air smelled heavily of exotic liquors from a hundred different worlds, and almost as many species were represented.

"I'm still not sure what we're doing here," Luke asked.

"We need transport off this world," Kenobi said. "I have some credits saved, but not enough to purchase our own ship. So we must negotiate passage. Be careful here, Luke."

"No need to warn me twice," Luke said as the two men settled down at the bar. Ben left his young charge, though he continued to keep an eye on him as he sought out likely smugglers.

The smugglers themselves recognized the look of someone seeking assistance, and one by one they made their way to him while Luke tried to look innocuous at the bar. The third table he came to held a large Wookiee and a human male approaching thirty.

"You looking for passage?" the smuggler said.

"Yes. To…Malastare, I believe. Just passage for two."

"When?"

"Immediately."

The man tsked. "Too bad, that. I've got a heavy cargo I'm going to be moving for the local Hutt. But if you could wait a week, I'd be willing to discount you the time."

"While I appreciate the offer, captain, I need to be in Malastare sooner than that."

"Hmmmm, might try Dantels then."

"Who?"

"Another Corellian. You know we make the best pilots. She's here between runs."

"I appreciate it, Captain. And you wouldn't happen to be compensated for suggesting her?"

"Actually, you might say I owe her."

"Very well. Can you tell me what to look for?"

"Pretty lady with wing-shaped blue tattoos around her eyes."

"I see. Thank you."

Obi-Wan left his booth and checked in briefly with Luke. "The ton-gin here's pretty good," the boy said with a happy smile and flushed cheeks.

Obi-Wan tried not to consider just what it meant that he was allowing the teen-aged son of his former padawan to get drunk; and instead continued looking for his next possible pilot.

Captain Nera Dantels proved easy to find. She was one of the more attractive women in the place, and with her distinctive tattoos she easily stood out. She sat in a booth on the opposite side of the cantina from Solo drinking an alarmingly pink, frothy concoction while looking at a holoreader.

Without invitation, Obi-Wan slipped into the booth. She looked up with narrowed eyes. "Little old to be hitting on me, aren't you?"

"It depends on the services rendered, of course," Obi-Wan said with a pleasant smile. "It was suggested by a Captain Han Solo that you might be able to provide transportation for my companion and I."

"Solo, huh? You a criminal?"

"I don't believe so."

"Hmmm, well, I am. Is that a problem?"

"Again, I do not believe so."

"Okay, so where are you going?"

"Malastare. Myself and one other. And I believe we might be picking up a third en route."

"When?"

"As soon as possible."

She looked down at her holoreader. "Well, I just got an order to pick up a cargo to go there anyway, so you're in luck."

"How much?"

"Anything less than five thousand won't be worth the fuel."

Obi-Wan tried not to wince. That was almost everything he had left. Still, the Force compelled him. "Very well. When do we leave?"

"How 'bout right now?"

The two left the booth and found Luke sharing his life story, what there was of it, with a Bith who appeared to be equally inebriated.

"Luke, this is Captain Nera Dantals. She will be providing out transportation."

Luke turned and stared at the smuggler owlishly. "Wow! You're the prettiest captain I've ever seen!"

"And how many have you seen, farmboy?" she asked with an easy grin.

"Enough to know you're the prettiest!" Luke declared.

"Boy doesn't hold his drink," she noted.

"Knowing his uncle, he's never had any to hold before," Obi-Wan said. "Come on, Luke. It's time to go."

"Bye!" Luke said sadly to his Bith companion, who slowly fell over in a drunken stupor as they left. He looked back to Nera Dantels. "Would you marry me?"

"Not today, farmboy."

He looked heartbroken for a moment, but then grinned. "How 'bout tomorrow?"

"You'll have to ask tomorrow," Dantels said. "I try not to plan too far ahead."

"My mother was a queen," Luke told her.

"Good on you. Mine was an enslaved whore."

"Was she pretty too?"

"Right before the Hutt slime that owned her broke her neck."

Luke nodded as if processing that information, then looked at Obi-Wan before saying in a painfully loud whisper, "She's pretty."

Ben nodded and said with strained patience, "Luke, you're very sleepy."

"Yeah, I'm…." He slumped in their arms, snoring immediately.

"Nice trick," Dantels said. "Is he always this stupid, or is it just the drink?"

"Luke is a very kind and loving young man."

"So it's not just the drink?"

"You should have seen his father. Is that you're ship? The boy is heavier than I expected."

"Yep, that's the _Starduster_."

The _Starduster_ looked on first glance like an unremarkable-looking freighter with a sled-shaped frame and rounded prow that ran back to four large vectored thruster nozzles. However, on second glance Ben noted it had a large hyperdrive array that indicated it was a fast ship, and several artfully concealed weapons ports.

"A solid-looking ship," he said with an approving nod.

"Hmmm—most lay people think it looks like a piece of junk."

"I can't imagine someone in your line would want a gleaming new ship," Obi-Wan pointed out. "But that hyperspace array is spotless. I would imagine this ship is much better looking on the inside than on the out."

"Smart man. But then again, a former general of the Republic would be, wouldn't he?"

Obi-Wan tried not to hide his surprise. "You look a little young to know who I was."

"I have a confession to make," Dantels said with a grin. "I had play figures of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi as a little girl. But as hot and dreamy as Skywalker was, it was always the Obi-Wan doll I played with. Something about the beard."

Obi-Wan blinked. "I must confess that I'm not sure how to take that."

Dantels laughed. "Let's get farmboy stored and the ship on course, and I'll show you."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Harry sighed when Maris finally slipped into a deep, peaceful sleep. He draped the blanket over her filthy body and hoped wherever Winter was taking them had a good bath. Across from Maris, Mara was also asleep. Though the strain was much less, Harry had used enough power to strain her, and the brief surge of borrowed power from Winter wasn't quite enough to keep her going.

He stood and left the two women sleeping in the small cabin and made his way back to the cockpit where Winter was finishing up a holonet call with someone. She switched the screen off as he arrived.

"Well, have I passed muster?"

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"You were sent to evaluate us," Harry said. "Bail gave us the ship very quickly. So, how is the evaluation going?"

She turned the seat so she could stare at him directly. He leaned back and endured the calculating, intelligent gaze. "You knew exactly how to talk to Brood," Winter said. "How?"

"A mixture of magical awareness, telepathy, empathy and eons of experience," he admitted. "I felt the pull on my Hufflepuff line. Helga Hufflepuff was one of the most powerful mages of her time, along with the three other founders of a school of magic that stood for a thousand years on my birth world. Those who followed her path believed in loyalty, hard work and camaraderie. The last was especially important. When Maris lost her masters—she did lose more than one, she told me—she felt betrayed and alone. For her, that was hell. That is why she slipped into darkness for a time. Not because she was evil, but because she was lost."

"You don't talk to me like that."

"You don't need anyone to guide you," Harry said. "Frankly, you're smarter than me, so all I can do is dig into a bag of tricks that is larger than yours. I doubt I could out think you. So I don't try. I'll be honest with you and let you make your own decision, unless it is something that only I am equipped to handle."

"So Maris needed a father figure?"

"She needed a leader," he corrected. "If not me, she would have followed you if you could have defeated her. Her last master was a woman, I believe. She needed someone to follow, to give her loyalty to, and to receive loyalty from. So that is what I am for her."

"For her," Winter said coolly. "And what did Mara need?"

"Mara needed the freedom to discover herself. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to give her that freedom initially. So I'm going to give it to her from now on. I'll guide her if she wants me to, but otherwise I just want to give her all the happiness the Emperor denied her before."

Winter looked back out toward the stars. "Nothing is that perfect, Potter. Nothing. There is a catch. A price. Happiness does not come cheap."

Harry stared at her for a long time before he nodded. "My very first wives were executed by my enemies. I watched a memory of them die, one by one. Women I had spent a lifetime loving, the mother of my children, gunned down like animals. I completely lost control of my magic, and ended up helping my enemies by killing myself and five thousand other mages when I caused the school to explode—including my own children and grandchildren. And it is not the first time my wives have been used as weapons to destroy me. I cannot live in this plain of existence without wives, Winter. Without those bonds, without that love, there is nothing to keep my soul here. If I don't kill myself outright, my body falls apart within a few days. It's happened more times than I can count."

He leaned forward, impaling the woman with his gaze. "That is the price of being attached to a champion of the light. I get called into this existence again and again to fight. And in war there is death. By bonding with Mara and Maris, I have placed them both in danger. I will give everything I can to protect them, but despite everything I am not a god. And having met some real gods, even then I could not be everywhere at once."

Winter fought to turn away from him, but it was difficult. "How does having five wives even work?"

"The bonds are like battery chargers," he said. "I told Mara that she would have to share me, but she would never be in want for me. Because of what I am, and what destiny shaped me to be, I can have sex constantly. I am a baby-making machine, to be crude. I've learned techniques over time to keep from impregnating my wives when doing so could be dangerous. For instance, if Mara were to get pregnant that would increase the danger for all of us."

"You've…"

"What, had sex with her? Several times. A day. Though that was partly to try and help her with the strain of the bond. Sex among bonded mages is more than just a physical act; it is a sharing of power. But I'm still glad we found Maris. It's already helped tremendously. They'll both tire out at the end of the day, but there is no longer any danger."

"Can you show me some of this magic?"

Harry held out his hand and narrowed his eyes. Winter watched wide-eyed as the air began to sparkle, taking shape until he held a beautiful, deep red flower. "What is that?" she whispered.

"A rose," he said. "A flower from my birth world. Been extinct for a million years at least. But for all your pale beauty, I thought a touch of color would be nice." He leaned forward and slipped the rose into the strands of her white hair behind her ear, and then conjured a mirror. "See? Perfect."

Winter was a pale woman, named as much for her white hair, pale skin and icy blue eyes as for anything else. However, the splash of color cast an appealing red tint to her cheeks. "Nice," she admitted grudgingly. "So now what? Do you expect me to just throw my clothes off and ravish you because you gave me a flower?"

Harry snorted. "I think that'd shock me more than you. I don't expect anything of you. I hope. I won't deny that. I hope that you'll see that I will not hurt you, and that I could make you happy. That we would be helping each other fight the Empire. But I don't expect anything. I have no right to have expectations of you or anyone else. Only myself."

She looked back to the stars. "And what would I be, among these lines of magic?"

"Ravenclaw," he said without hesitation. "You gather knowledge like a sponge gathers water. You have a keen mind. Mara and Maris are both very intelligent, but you see and make connections in ways they do not."

"Again, how do you know?"

"I can see your soul."

He said it so simply, without affectation or import, that she had no choice but to believe. But the meaning was at once chilling and strangely intoxicating. "What do you see now?"

"I see that your soul wants you to believe, but your mind won't allow it. So, half the battle won."

Her hands shook as she called up a hologram of a star chart. "We're going Malastare," she said. "There is a small Alliance cell there. We're to remain there until contacted."

"Will we be considered guests or prisoners? That was why you came, wasn't it? To determine if we were allies or enemies?"

"I…yes. We'll be guests, so long as you don't try to harm anyone."

"Promise. I'll be on my best behavior. I just hope they have a bath. When will we be there?"

"Just a few hours."

"Good. Get some rest."

"You don't know how to pilot."

"Yeah, I do. I've been watching you, and I've piloted ships much more advanced than this. For instance, flying the Command Module—I think Mara called it Centerpoint Station—between galaxies was a true nightmare."

She blinked at him before nodding. "I think I will go lay down, then."

When she was gone, he sat in the pilots seat and looked at the stars. _I like her_, a wonderfully familiar voice whispered in the depths of his mind. With the voice came a vision of long, pale blonde hair and owlish gray eyes.

Harry smiled at the memory and the touch of his long-dead wife. "Half the battle won," he said aloud.


	10. Malastare

Chap 9 Review Responses are posted on my forums. Since the normal link is gone, I've posted it to my profile.

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**Chapter Ten: Malastare**

"So much for Jedi being sexless monks," Nera Dantels said two hours later with a satisfied, sweaty smile. "You've done that before.'

"The Jedi Order never forbade sex, just attachment," Obi-Wan said archly.

The two were quite intimately arrayed on the narrow bunk of the captain's quarters. The tryst had been quick and surprisingly urgent, especially for Obi-Wan. It had been many, many years since his midnight trysts with Siri in the Temple. Like most padawans, they were taught that sexuality was a part of them to be controlled and understood. As part of that understanding, it was not unusual for older padawans to have sexual relations, but it was discouraged.

Except by Qui-Gon, who thought it was a healthy outlet and actively encouraged his padawan. Secretly, of course, but actively.

But now, a lifetime later in the arms of a woman twenty years his junior, he found himself thinking of his childhood friend and teen lover. Her death during the Clone Wars was the closest Obi-Wan ever came to the Dark Side.

He felt fingers gently running through his beard and turned to find two gentle eyes staring at him from the blue tattoos that adorned Dantels face. "Jedi didn't actually forgo all attachments, did they?"

"No," Obi-Wan admitted. "Not all."

She leaned down at kissed him. "General, there was a reason Han sent you to me."

"Oh?"

"He probably recognized you as well. And he knows I do runs for the Alliance. That's why I'm going to Malestare. It's a supply run to a small cell we have there helping with their revolt against the Empire. And after that, I'm going to be taking a supply run to the main Alliance base."

Obi-Wan sat up, genuinely surprised. Dantels scooted back against the other side of the bunk, perfectly comfortable with her body just as Obi-Wan was with his own. "That is interesting," he said. "I heard rumors of Bail Organa having to step down from his senatorial seat. He wouldn't happen to be involved, would he?"

"He's one of our leaders," Dantels confirmed. "Do you know Rahm Kota?"

"Kota?" Kenobi blinked. "Now that is a name I haven't heard in many years. It makes sense he would survive the Purge, though. He disdained the clone troopers and used only volunteers. His command did not have the success that the clone units had, but he was an accomplished general."

"Right now he and Garm Bel Iblis are our military leaders, and General Dodonna is our active commander."

"I never knew Senator Bel Iblis, though I can hear respect for him in your voice, but I did serve with Jan on two campaigns during the Clone Wars. He was also an accomplished leader."

"Are you going to join the fight?" she asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure yet. I received a message through the Force that it was time for Luke and I to leave Tattooine. We are going to be meeting someone en route to Malastare, and from there we will decide. However, it is good to know where your loyalty lies. In fact, it makes me feel much more secure."

She leaned forward and reached over until she took his shaft in her hands. "Are you sure that's the only reason you feel secure in my hands?"

"Well, perhaps not the only reason," he admitted with a raised brow. "This whole trip has been quite unexpected. But so far, it has been very enjoyable."

"I'm glad you think so. So, do you know when we will be meeting your friend?"

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and reached out in the Force. "Very soon, actually. We should probably get dressed."

The two stood and began pulling on their clothes—Nera her spacer uniform and Obi-Wan his dusty old Jedi robes. Once dressed, he gently took the woman in his arms and kissed her. "Thank you for sharing that with me," he told her sincerely. "It has been a long time."

"Well, if it's any consolation, it didn't show," she told the old Jedi with a smile.

"You're too kind," Obi-Wan said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Nera paused a moment, then leaned over to kiss him again, passionately. "I really wasn't," she assured him. "Now, let's go wake up loverboy and find your friend. Wouldn't be Anakin Skywalker, would it?"

"No. But if you're that enthused, you could always get closer to his son."

"His…" Her eyes widened. "You mean Farmboy?"

"Come, I'll introduce you to Luke Skywalker."

When they woke him, Luke groaned with genuine pain. "Why are you hitting me?" he asked of the air.

Ben sat on the edge of the young man's bunk and placed a hand on his forehead. Luke blinked in surprise. "What did you do? My headache is gone."

"Through the Force many things are possible," Kenobi said. "Although next time you're on your own."

Luke nodded then realized Captain Dantels leaned against the frame of the door. Luke blushed down to his toes. "Hi, er…Captain. I'm really, really sorry if I said anything rude."

"Does that mean you don't want to marry me anymore?"

Luke's blush actually became redder. "Er, no, I guess not. Sorry."

Dantels laughed. "Quite all right. The attention is flattering for an old spacer gal like me."

"You're not old," Luke insisted.

"Most certainly not," Kenobi agreed. "Now, we should be meeting our last passenger very soon. Shall we head to the cockpit?"

The cockpit was obviously wired for a single occupant. There were four stations, and every one was slaved into a master control board that took up much of Dantels' left board. As Luke and Kenobi settled in the captain took her seat and quickly, efficiently brought the freighter out of hyperspace.

"Okay, what am I looking for?" she asked. "We're a few hundred lightyears away from anything."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. He couldn't help but smile when he immediately felt the present of his old mentor. "You should be receiving a signal now."

"And there it is," Dantels said. "That's an awfully small ship to be this far out. I could actually take that into my cargo hold."

"You'll need to," Obi-Wan said. "It is out of fuel."

She turned and stared at him. "You're joking."

"I wish I were," Obi-Wan said.

He noticed Luke watching with interest as Nera brought the _Starduster_ toward the small lifepod. She opened her aft cargo bay door, which was still empty, and positioned the freighter down until it actually surrounded the pod before closing the doors. "We got it."

The three of them left the cockpit, moved out of the crew and passenger quarters and into the newly pressurized cargo bay. The pod's ramp had already lowered, showing the small green figure within.

"By the stars," Dantels whispered. "Master Yoda?"

"Young to know me, you are," Yoda said.

"Captain Dantels apparently was a fan of the Jedi as a child," Kenobi said.

Yoda looked from the captain to Kenobi, and back again. "Obvious, that is."

Dantels had the grace to blush. Kenobi simply smiled. Luke missed it. "What's a Yoda?" the young man asked.

"A Yoda," Kenobi said with a wry twist to the participle, "is a Grandmaster of the Jedi Order and the oldest member of the Jedi Council."

"He's a Jedi?"

"Much like his father, this one is," Yoda said. "Though as quick, he is not."

"To be fair, by Luke's age Anakin had been in the Order for many years. Luke is a product of public Tattooine education."

"Then happy he can read, we shall be," Yoda said. The ancient Jedi master hobbled down the ramp. Then, "Read he can, yes?"

"I can read!" an indignant Luke declared.

"Good that is." Yoda looked at Dantels. "Your name, child?"

"Captain Nera Dantels."

"I sense great loyalty in you."

"Captain Dantels tells me she works with the Rebel Alliance," Obi-Wan said.

"How fortuitous," Yoda said. "Obi-Wan, know you why we go to Malastare?"

"Honestly, Master Yoda, I do not. I thought we were going to wait."

"Changed the future has," Yoda said with a triumphant cluck of his tongue. "Changed everything else. A new hope in the Force do I sense. A great power for good. Go meet it on Malastare we shall."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Harry had no expectations regarding what the Alliance cell on Malastare would be like. He had fought in dozens of wars both as the authority and as the guerilla fighter, so he tried not to give himself any expectations on what he would find.

Shortly before they arrived, Harry stepped into the cabin to find Mara and Maris still both sleeping soundly. He leaned down and kissed Mara's slightly parted lips until her eyes opened. "Hello," she whispered with a smile.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes." She sat up and watched as Harry knelt down beside the still filthy but slumbering Maris Brood.

He gently laid a hand on her cheek until her yellow eyes popped open. She sat up with a gasp and seemed terrified for a moment before she felt Harry take her hands. "Where…"

"Winter said we would be entering Malastare's atmosphere in the next few minutes," Harry said. "How do you feel?"

"Filthy," she said with a disgusted frown.

"Bath is the first order of business," Harry said. "I'd spell you clean, but frankly you deserve the luxury of a long bath. If we don't find one, I'll get you clean another way. Come."

He led the two ladies into the cockpit where Winter was beginning the landing cycle. Mara slipped into the co-pilot's seat and pointed at a distant dagger-shaped vessel. "Star destroyer."

"Malastare revolted against the last Imperial Governor," Winter said. "He was hunting sentients on a reserve like beasts."

"Ozzik Sturn," Mara agreed. "After the debacle on Kashyyk, he was executed for gross negligence."

"Good riddance," Winter muttered. "However, things are still tense on the surface. I've explained we are on the way to the surface as COMPNOR members."

"Good idea," Mara said.

The ship entered the atmosphere of a green world with a few oceans but more land than water. Still, it had not become covered completely in cities yet and had large swathes of open vegetation. They did fly into the outskirts of one town in the northern hemisphere. Winter took them to a small spaceport where their ship was one of the larger ones present. As soon as they landed within the domed hangar, the roof retracted.

She led the way out of the shuttle and Harry noted several men who carried themselves like soldiers waiting for them. None wore anything resembling a uniform, but all were armed with pistols.

"Winter," the leader said. "Good to see you."

"You too, Biggs. Derek, still hanging around with this loser?'

"Life is hard," the man named Klivian said. Then he spotted Mara. "Although it has its bright spots."

"Yes," Winter said. "Biggs, Derek, this is Harry Potter, his wife Mara Jade and…"

"My other wife, Maris," Harry said. "We had to pull her out of a mud-bath on Felucia, so a fresher would be appreciated."

"Two wives, huh?" Derek Klivian said.

Harry shrugged. "With god-like power and smashing good looks, what can you expect?"

"Right," Biggs said. "Captain Biggs Darklighter. This is Captain Derek Klivian."

"Nice to meet you," Derek said, never taking his eyes away from Mara.

She looked at Harry. "Could you turn him into a monkey lizard?"

"I don't know what a monkey lizard is," Harry confessed. "I could turn him into a monkey, or a lizard. Technically I could turn part of him into a monkey and the other part into a lizard, but multiple partial animal transfiguration usually kills within a few minutes."

"Please don't turn our best Alliance pilots into animals," Winter said.

"You guys are joking, right?" Klivian said.

"Keep making my wife uncomfortable, and we'll find out. Now, about a good fresher?"

It turned out the cell housed itself in a two-story apartment complex just a few klicks away from the spaceport. Nestled as it was among purple-veined trees and a bubbling brook on a hillside, the place was both secluded and beautiful. There were several men and women there serving as soldiers, pilots and agents to assist the natives fight the Empire.

Fortunately there was space enough to give Harry and the girls their own room with their own fresher.

Maris Brood did not delay making use of it. Once she was inside, though, she stopped and stared at her reflection in the mirror, startled by what she saw. It had been so very long since she was surrounded by hard, artificial walls. It had been longer still since she stared into a mirror. Vanity was not encouraged in the temple, and even if it were, she was still just a child when she left.

It surprised her to find herself having to guess at how things worked. The flusher was simple enough and she made use of it without hesitation. But the bath…such things were unusual. The dorms her clan of younglings used in the Temple held only a unisex common shower. This was actually a pre-fabricated unit comprised of a tub, three walls and a shower stall.

It took a moment of fiddling before the water started pouring out of the spout into the bath, and another to switch it to the shower head. She pulled a featureless opaque curtain across the open side to keep the water from splashing everywhere, and simply stood under the water.

She lowered her head as the soothing warmth flowed over her and watched as bits of mud began to flake off and drain away. She raised an arm and ran one hand down its length, exposing the pale skin below. The weight of her hair started to pull at her so she reached up to uncoil the braids she wrapped around her own neck in order to keep them out of her face.

The braids were clotted with oil, mulch and other filth, and the realization came as a shock to her that she had never washed her hair the entire time she was on Felucia, which was most of her life.

She sat down in the tub with the shower still going and began to undo braids held together by a cement of filth. She eventually turned the water off after plugging the drain so she could work on her hair. Eventually she got all the braids undone and pulled the bundle of hair around her shoulder.

It was so long! Loose and flowing, the hair could easily reach her ankles. It was so much—too much. The worst came when she examined one strand and saw insects crawling in it. She looked down into the filthy water and realized the water was also alive with the vermin that had been living in her hair.

There was a knock on the door. "What?" Maris cried, horrified and disgusted with herself.

The door opened and Mara came in—the servant of the Emperor, trained as a Sith. Perfect, beautiful red hair and eyes like emeralds. She wanted to yell at the beautiful girl, or make a biting comment. Instead all that came out was, "There are vermin living in my hair."

Mara, who was simply coming to check on her new sister, stopped and blinked in surprise. The Zabrak was younger than she thought at first, though obviously older than she was. She sat naked and pale in a tub of filthy water with hair long enough to cover her whole body and an expression of hopeless frustration and loss. She felt that hopelessness through her bond and fought to keep her own eyes dry.

Despite it, Mara could see the woman was beautiful, strikingly so with her delicate red horns and yellow eyes. Her natural coloring gave her purple lips, and those lips were caught in a grimace of self-disgust, even while those yellow eyes bled tears.

"I was just coming to see if you are all right."

"I'm filthy and sore and covered in bugs," Maris said as she splashed the water with her fists in frustration.

"How long has it been since you've had a bath like this?"

The confession of "I don't know" came as a barely audible whisper.

Mara made a decision then. "Don't move," she said before disappearing from the room.

Five minutes later Mara returned with a basket in her hand. She pulled up the sleeves of her unitard, put one of the two towels in the room on the floor, and knelt down beside the Jedi padawan.

"You are Sith trained?"

"I was," Mara said. "It was the only life I knew or could imagine. Until Harry came. You should have seen him. He was making fun of Darth Vader to his face. Accused him of being a stereotype."

Maris's expression morphed from horror to surprise to a hesitant smile. "He…he must have been very brave."

"He doesn't fear dying," Mara said sadly. "I almost lost him. He needs us, you see. Without our love to anchor his soul, he'll die and return to his heaven." She took a box of white powder from the basket and dumped the whole thing on Maris's head.

The padawan sputtered as Mara began vigorously rubbing the powder into Maris's long hair. The lather poured into the water, killing all the vermin on or in it, and effectively cleansing the Zabrak's entire body.

"Now stand up," Mara said.

The cowed padawan did just that as Mara pulled the plug to let the filthy, insect-laden water drain. She turned the shower back on and helped Maris rinse the insecticide from her hair. She then gave the older woman a conditioning shampoo and some body soap.

"Finish up and I'll be here to help you with your hair."

Maris stammered her thanks before finishing her shower. When she finished she found Mara waiting for her with a determined expression. "That's a lot of hair," was the first thing the redhead said.

Maris looked down and saw the tips of her hair brushing against her toes.

The drying of her body took minutes. The drying of her hair seemed interminable. Finally, she looked up at Mara and said, "Do you have cutters?"

The redhead reached into the basket. "How much?"

"I don't know," Maris admitted. "I've never cut it before. Maybe…here?"

"That's a good length," Mara agreed. Before the padawan could change her mind, Mara took the cutter across the curtain of black hair.

Maris sighed as the weight left her. "Wow," she whispered. "I never realized it was so heavy."

With her hair down to shoulder length, Mara began combing it out, pleased to see the conditioner had done its job. "You have beautiful hair," she said. "Have to be careful, though. Those horns are sharp."

Maris laughed for a moment, and then stared at her reflection in the mirror in surprise. "I…thank you."

"My name is Mara."

"I'm Maris."

"A pleasure to meet you, Maris."

"And you, Mara. Thank you for helping me."

Mara examined her work critically before nodding in satisfaction. "It was my pleasure. You are a beautiful woman."

Maris lifted a finger to her dark purple lips. "I hope he thinks so."

The two women looked at each other in the mirror. Maris wore only a white towel wrapped around her torso, while Mara wore only her black, form-fitting unitard. "You know the most amazing thing about this whole thing?" Mara asked.

Maris silently shook her head.

"I'm not jealous of you," the redhead admitted. "In fact, I'm happy. I'm happy you're a part of this with me. Like my sister."

Maris turned to look at the shorter woman for the longest time.

"I don't understand these feelings," she confessed. "I've never felt them before."

"Me neither. Harry says its love. And I believe him."

"Does it…does it hurt to make love?"

"Not with Harry," Mara said. "It's so much more than what I thought." With deliberate slowness, Mara removed the towel from Maris's body, exposing large white breasts with purple areolas and nipples.

Maris shivered, but Mara simply smiled and took her hand. "Let's go find Harry," she said happily.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"I can't believe it," the hologram of Bail Organa said. "Maris Brood cried in his arms?"

Winter shrugged. "He has a way with women."

The former senator and current Viceroy of Alderaan narrowed his eyes. "Winter?"

"He's trying," Winter admitted.

"And…?"

"And nothing. He's trying."

"Is Leia safe from him?"

"Not in the least," Winter said quickly. "Leia likes to pretend she wants only the classy boys, but she's a sucker for the rogues, and Harry Potter is the ultimate rogue. He'd have her married to him within a day."

"Then we will keep her far away," Bail said. "Look, Winter, things are starting to happen. Bad things. Operation Skyhook is under way. Leia is involved. We're evacuating Dantooine and moving to our secondary site now just to be safe."

"I know where it is. Do you want us to go there?"

"Not yet," Bail said. "Leia's going to make it there eventually and I don't want her mingling with this new character. For now, stay put."

"Okay, Bail."

"One more thing, Winter."

"Yes?"

"The flower in your hair is quite lovely."

Winter smiled and blushed prettily. "Thank you, Bail. Be safe."

"You too."


	11. No One Expects the Inquisitorius!

Author's Notes: Thanks to Nifty Nibbler, I figured out a better way to post a link in my profile, so for anyone who actually cares about the Review Responses, they are available in my forums, which hopefully will now be easier to get to.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: No One Expects the Inquisitorius!**

Maris Brood woke up to a strange sensation. She found herself sandwiched between two warm bodies.

The warmth was more than just physical. She felt utterly, completely safe for the first time since before the Jedi fell when she was a little girl. More than safe. She felt _right_.

A small hand rested over her left breast, while a splash of red hair hung over her stomach. Her other breast was cupped by a larger but still gentle hand, while a man's breath blew rhythmically against her neck.

She turned her head so as not to wake Mara, and found herself staring into two endless green pools. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You are my wife now," Harry said softly. "Everything I am is yours."

"This seems too good to be true," she said. "I never even imagined I could be this happy."

Gentle lips kissed the swell of her left breast and she turned to see Mara prop herself up on one elbow. "Me neither," the younger woman said. "Is it always this good?"

"What we share will never diminish," Harry said. "But life has a habit of throwing bad things at us. I can't promise we will never know pain or hardship. But what we feel for each other will never diminish. If anything, it grows better with age."

"And we need three more women," Mara said.

"That would be ideal," Harry admitted with a wry smile. "I could function with just the two of you, but getting all five would get us all to full power. And in a war, we will need that power. But we still need to get you wands. I sensed Felucia would be a good place for it. At some point we may need to return there if we can't find an alternative somewhere else. The life there was innately magical."

"I think that's why Master Ti took us there," Maris admitted. "We hid in the Force-shadow of the planet. The Emperor could not find us, or so we thought."

Before they could say anything more, the door opened and Winter walked in. She wore a white unitard similar in cut to the black one Mara usually wore, with a white jacket and boots, and a wide white utility belt from which she hung her blaster.

She did not pause as she saw the three entwined naked bodies on the bed. "I see we had a good night last night."

"Force yes," Maris exclaimed. She sat up, as did Mara.

The redhead grinned at Winter. "Come to join the fun?"

"Not just yet. But seeing your current states has reminded me that you don't have any clothes."

"We need to go shopping," Mara agreed. "I managed to salvage some credits."

Maris blinked, while Harry just shrugged. "You girls go knock yourself out. I'll just make my own."

As he stood the air around him shimmered until he was covered in a luxurious bathrobe. He started toward the fresher, but paused by Winter. "You're worried about something," he said. "Everything all right?"

"Everything is fine," Winter lied.

"Okay. Well, if Mara and Maris are going shopping, they should take the fresher first."

"Scrub my back?" Mara asked Maris.

"I do owe you," Maris agreed. The two women bounced off the bed and ran toward the fresher, giggling like children.

Winter stared at them in shock. "We found more information on Mara Jade. She was one of the most highly placed and secretive agents of the Emperor. Sith-trained assassins do not giggle like that."

"Who she was is not who she is, or who she will be," Harry said. "Happiness can change even the hardest souls."

"And you made them happy?"

"Well, I don't want to brag…."

Winter snorted. "We'll leave in thirty minutes."

She turned to leave when she felt a tentative hand brush her shoulder. He did not try to stop her, merely get her attention. She turned and found him looking at her seriously. "If you need help with whatever you're not worried about, ask. I owe the Alliance, and more importantly, you and Bail, for helping me find Maris. If you need help, I will give it."

"I'm not sure how you could help."

"Don't let that stop you from asking. You see, I was evaluating you as well, Winter. You and your Alliance. I have no doubt you are the good guys. You fight for the light. I will fight for you."

"Thank you, then," she said. She should have turned and left, but then heard the girls laughing in the fresher. "You really did make them happy."

"I did. If I'm going to drag them into danger, I might as well make them as happy as I can in the process."

She nodded before turning to leave. Harry walked back to the bed and stared at the ceiling while in the fresher the water ran.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Leia Organa was not having a good day.

She thought she was when she woke up that morning. Kyle Katarn and the rest of the pieces of Operation Skyhook all fell together to provide a composite of the Death Star plans, more complete than anything they could have hoped for otherwise. The only thing dimming their hope was the fact that the Death Star existed at all.

When the _Tantive IV_ came out of hyperspace, the beautiful Mon Calamari star cruiser _Liberty_ waited for them exactly where she was supposed to be. The plans were too important to risk sending through even a tight band laser and so Leia prepared her shuttle to go over personally.

Naturally, the Empire would choose that moment to show up.

She did not know for sure how the Empire found out about the rendezvous point, but when the _Imperial_-I class star destroyer _Immortal_ arrived, it did so with all guns blazing.

She watched with pride as a squadron of X-Wing fighters and a pair of R-22 _Spearhead_ starfighters launched to defend the _Liberty_. The starfighters proved enough of a distraction for both the _Liberty_ and the _Tantive IV_ to escape.

Or so Leia thought.

The _Immortal_ was not the only star destroyer following them. As soon as the _Tantive IV_ dropped out of hyperspace again, the _Devastator_ dropped into real space as well and immediately began pelting them with turbolaser fire.

"Isn't that the same blasted ship from Toprawa?" Captain Raymus Antilles asked.

"I think so," Leia said. "How could it have found us so fast?"

"Tracking beacon?" Antilles wondered. "They're going to have us in tractor range soon, highness. We need a destination."

"Tattoine," she said. "Father always told me that a Jedi lived there who could help."

"I hope the Jedi is still there," Antilles said.

They set course and were soon traveling through hyperspace with Darth Vader's flagship right on their tail.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Winter watched with a bemused expression as Mara Jade, former Imperial assassin and Sith adept, attempted to teach Maris Brood, a fallen Jedi Padawan, how to shop for clothes.

It was, in a way, very entertaining. While Maris was a full decade older than Jade, and in fact almost a decade older than the wiser-than-her-18-years Winter herself, the padawan had been completely isolated from society since childhood. This gave the older woman a strangely innocent, child-like approach to many things.

For instance, she had never been shopping at all, ever.

Winter at first suspected as the three women entered the human-centric shopping district on the outskirts of town that she would have to do the shopping. However, despite her age and position in life Mara proved to have experience and good taste. Evidently her many missions gave her a fine eye and a predisposition to haggle the poor vendors down to sometimes mere fractions of their original asking prices.

More often they just spent time trying on new outfits. They actually wore one set of newly purchased clothes out of their first shop to continue the rest of the day in fashion.

Winter, being fashion-conscious and having been raised in the palace on Alderaan, found a few items herself. After all, Bail was picking up the tab and the man was anything but poor.

It came as a surprise for the young intelligence expert that she enjoyed herself as much as she did. Leia hated shopping for clothes, which for Winter was such an odd paradox. Leia was a princess of Alderaan and should have loved the experience. However, Bail's only child was also a notorious tomboy growing up and would rather tinker with swoop bikes or learn hand-to-hand combat that do anything as girly as shopping with her best and only friend.

But Mara and Maris were laughing and having fun, and despite her attempts to maintain her stoic demeanor, Winter couldn't help but be pulled into their discussions about clothes and fashion. She was the one who declared that purple was Maris's best color because of her complexion, and yellow her absolute worst, and that was Maris's guiding principle from that point forward.

They paused long enough to eat at a topcaf, which was airing a local report from a Gran about the disturbances on the far continent. The Empire had finally suppressed the riots. Though the Imperial governor refused to release casualty reports, the local magistrate estimated roughly two thousand Grans and at least three thousand Dugs died.

That sobered the three women, as well as the other patrons in the topcaf. Most were human as well, since this was one of the few human districts on the otherwise Gran and Dug-populated world.

"Harry's waiting for us," Mara finally said.

"Yes," Maris agreed. She looked to the younger girl. "He's going to make it better, isn't he?"

"I think so," Mara said with a tentative smile. "The Emperor was scared of him, so I have hope."

The three women started to stand when someone abruptly sat at their table. He was a tall man with non-descript features, dark hair and narrow eyes set high in an olive-toned face. He wore equally non-descript dark gray clothes. "Good morning," the man said.

The three women very slowly sat down. "Good morning," Winter said easily. "What can we do for you today?"

"I was hoping but for a moment of your time," the man with a thin smile. "Three such beautiful women as yourselves should be use to male attention, after all."

"We prefer the attention of our own males, thank you," Mara said tightly.

"Indeed. And one of your males is very interested in seeing you again, Miss Jade."

A stormtrooper appeared at the far side entrance. Another appeared in the near entrance. The conversations in the topcaf came crashing down into silence as people realized something bad was happening.

"It was the hair, wasn't it?" Mara muttered. "Stupid."

"It is quite distinctive," the Imperial agent agreed. "You three will come with us so we can avoid any unpleasantness, won't you?"

A strange "pop" rang through the air, and suddenly a fifth person sat at their table. He wore a well-tailored black uniform of unfamiliar cut and no markings at all. "Harry," Mara breathed in relief.

"Hi, everybody!" Harry said brightly. He completely ignored the startled Imperial Intelligence Agent and admired his wives. "Wow, you two look delicious. Maris, purple really is your color, you know."

"I know now," Maris she said with a worried smile.

Harry turned back to the agent. "These aren't the ladies you're looking for," he said.

The man's face blanked. "These aren't the ladies I'm looking for."

"Instead, you wish to strip down to your skivvies and run out of here screaming, 'I am a Kowakian Monkey Lizard' as loud as you can."

The man stood and without hesitation took off his clothes. The stormtroopers watched in stunned silence as the agent then ran past them, screaming as loud as he could, "I am a Kowakian monkey lizard!"

Harry grinned at the girls. "The animal names change, but the joke remains the same. It never gets old."

More stormtroopers poured in, followed by two serious-looking young men in dark robes

lined with silver. "Inquisitorius," Mara hissed.

"Hey there!" Harry called out to the two young men. "Where's Drayneen and her nipples o' doom?"

Mara giggled and Winter shook her head. "Do you take anything seriously?" she finally asked.

"Not if I can help it," Harry admitted.

The two dark-side adepts lit their red lightsabers and charged forward while the stormtroopers forced the rest of the civilians out of the topcaf. Mara and Maris responded with their own red blades, and soon the four were sparring across the floor. Harry stood and walked over to the now empty bar. Winter followed with her hold-out pistol drawn.

"Are you going to help them?" she asked.

"Wasn't planning on it," Harry said. "They need to know they can fight their own fights." He reached behind the counter and snagged a protein wrap and a jug of pre-mixed caf.

The stormtroopers now lined the interior of the room with their rifles drawn. Five had a bead on Harry and Winter, but Harry continued eating calmly. "You know," he said between bites, "I have always admired women who can fight. Look at those two. Are they not the most beautiful things you've ever seen?"

In fact, both were completely lost in the fight. They fought in perfect tandem, as if they had been training together for their entire lives. They randomly switched opponents, throwing the Dark Side adepts off balance. More than once a storm trooper was cut down just by accident.

"Get your hands up," one trooper had the temerity to say to Harry.

"Put your own hands up," Harry snapped back.

The trooper dropped his gun and raised his hands.

Winter shook her head. "Can you do that to all of them at once?"

"No," Harry admitted. "But a few at a time is pretty easy. Oh, and Mr. Armor, be a nice fellow and shoot some of your friends, would you?" he said to the trooper with his hands up.

The trooper bent down to lift his rifle and then turned around and calmly shot a fellow trooper in the faceplate. This added to the chaos of the fight, and soon green bolts of energy were flying around the room as Harry randomly picked troopers and overcame their minds.

All the while, Mara and Maris fought the clearly out-classed adepts. It was Winter who said over the din, "Harry, we've obviously been compromised. We need to end this and warn the safe house."

"You're right, of course," Harry admitted. Then, in a voice so loud a nearby glass tumbler shattered, he said, "Mara, Maris, can you finish them off quickly or do you need me to turn them into fish?"

That was enough to make adepts pause and blink in confusion, which in turn was all the two wives needed. A second later the adepts fell dead. Harry then looked around at the remaining stormtroopers, raised both hands, and flicked his fingers. A wave of barely perceptible energy burst from his hands in a circle that blew the stormtroopers out of the topcaf doors, and on three occasions through the walls themselves.

He quickly gathered Mara and Maris. "You two were brilliant," he said. "You're going to have to teach me how to handle a blade like that."

Both grinned and kissed his cheeks. He turned to Winter. "You staying here?"

"What?"

"Come on," Harry said. He motioned for her to come.

Hesitantly, Winter walked to the group and he pulled her into the large hug as well. "Hang on, this'll be fun," he said, before all four of them disappeared with a loud "pop."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, strode imperiously through the shattered airlock of the _Tantive IV_. The smoke from the battle swirled with his passage as he stepped in front of his storm troopers.

While Vader was disappointed in the escape of the rebel cruiser, his own success proved to be more satisfying. Ever since Galen Marek's betrayal, Vader had suspected Organa's daughter of following in her father's footsteps. Her activities on Ralltiir were compelling proof of that she was as implicit in the Alliance as Bail Organa.

Now, he knew for sure.

She looked so small and fragile as his troopers escorted her through the shattered remnants of her father's security detail. The illusion was shattered the moment she opened her mouth. "Darth Vader," she snapped, sounding oddly like Padme when she was mad at him. "Only you would be so bold. When the Senate hears about this…."

"Don't play games with me, Your Highness. You weren't on any mercy mission this time. Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by Rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a member of the Imperial senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan…"

"You're part of the Rebel Alliance, and a traitor!"

A young lieutenant snapped to attention. "Lord Vader, we intercepted a pair of droids attempting to take an escape pod."

_That was it._ Vader could see the outraged façade on the princess crack like so much shattered glass. "Bring the droids to me now."

"Yes, sir!"

Vader turned back to Leia. "Interesting. Droids are not programmed to use escape pods if biologicals are on board. The only way droids would do such a thing is if they received direct orders. Why would someone order droids to use an escape pod?"

Leia lifted her chin. "You will not get away with this," she said with admirable, if misplaced, bravado.

Before he could say anything, the lieutenant returned, accompanied by a pair of storm troopers and two droids. Vader stared at the droids for the longest time, unable to speak. Everyone in the room heard the long, dramatic pause of his respirator, before it came back at an accelerated rate. The Dark lord stepped away from Leia to stand before the golden protocol droid. "What is your designation?" he demanded.

"I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations," the droid said.

Vader turned from the golden droid to the astromech. "And this one?"

"This is R2-D2."

Again there was a long pause in the respirator. The lieutenant paled and began to obviously perspire while the troopers shifted on their feet uncomfortably. Finally, Vader turned back to Leia.

She was not expecting the question he asked: "Where did you get these droids?"

Leia opened her mouth to answer when R2 began beeping and whistling urgently. Without turning around, Vader said, "Artoo, command override Anakin 2. Be quiet."

Leia and the Imperials alike blinked in surprise when the droid instantly fell silent and even rocked on its short, stubby legs like an upset child. "Answer the question," Vader said to Leia.

"I…they were heirlooms from my mother," Leia said.

"Breha Organa never owned these droids," Vader said.

"My…" Leia paused, feeling somehow that what she was about to say was important. But she didn't understand why. "Why do you wish to know, Lord Vader?"

He leaned over, and though she could not see his face, it was obvious that he was staring intently into her face. "Who was your birth mother?"

"I never knew her name," Leia said, again raising her chin. "And I respected my adopted parents too much to ever ask."

Vader backed away from her, as if he saw something in her face that terrified him. "Lieutenant," he said quietly, "take her to the brig. She is not to be harmed at all. The droids are to be fitted with restraining bolts and taken to my personal quarters. In the meantime, tear this ship apart to ensure the plans are not aboard."

"Yes, sir!" the lieutenant said, relieved to have something to do.

* * *

sp

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Thank you for reading.


	12. Of Rancors, Elves and Other Such Things

Chapter 11 review responses are available in my forums. Thank you.

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**Chapter Twelve: Of Rancors, Elves and Other Such Things**

"We're coming out of hyperspace," Nera called over her shoulder.

Obi-Wan joined her in the cockpit as the blue swirling tunnel of hyperspace gave way abruptly to normal space. He immediately saw the Star Destroyer, as did Nera. "Good thing I have a valid license," she muttered. "They're still fighting on the far continent."

Obi-Wan smiled when he heard Luke howl as he was hit by the practice remote Yoda had him working with. "Well, by all means we should land far from there."

"We intentionally kept the cell away from that continent. Hold on, I'm getting a secure transmission." Nera turned away from the piloting controls to view the text only message. She leaned back, a confused expression on her face.

"Nera?"

"Strangest thing. Biggs just told me there have a Celestial in the safe house. What is that supposed to mean?"

Just then Yoda shambled into the cockpit. Without saying a word he climbed up onto the instrument array, somehow managing not to trigger anything, and stared intently down at the planet.

"Master Yoda?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Feel it, can you?" the Master asked without turning around.

Obi-Wan looked back at the planet. "I'm sorry, Master, I feel nothing more than a ripple in the Force. I sense there might be some Force-sensitives down there, but no more than that."

"A bright star he is to my eyes," Yoda said. He turned to regard Dantels; the captain looked back with a confused expression. "Celestial, did your people say?"

"Well, yes. What is a Celestial?"

Obi-Wan though began to pale. "Master Yoda, are you saying there is an actual, living Celestial down there? The beings who…"

"Brought life to the galaxy?" Yoda said. "Who gave the Force to us? Who threw the Brethren from the Heavens? Yes. I can feel him. Go to him I must."

Just then Luke walked in, sweaty and grumpy from his first round of lightsaber practice. "So, what's a Celestial?" Luke asked.

"The closest thing to a god the Jedi acknowledge," Obi-Wan said. "And apparently there is one on the planet below."

The _Starduster_ came down in a commercial port, since the private port was not large enough to support it, and a freighter at a private port would raise too many questions. However, a speeder was waiting for them after Nera paid the docking fee.

Obi-Wan watched with interest as Nera hugged the handsome driver with the thick black mustache. "Biggs! Is Klivian still here?"

"For now," Biggs said. "They're going to be splitting us up soon, though. They don't have enough Academy trained pilots to lump us all together. Who's…"

"Biggs!" Luke exclaimed joyfully.

Biggs looked at the young man, clearly astounded. "Luke?"

He was interrupted when the young man engulfed him in a joyous hug. Luke stepped back and said, "What are you doing here? I thought you were at the Imperial Academy?"

"Not here," Biggs said, looking around. The spaceport was mostly deserted, but not entirely. "Come on, let's go."

Luke sat up front, speaking animatedly with his old friend, while Obi-Wan, Yoda and Captain Dantels sat in the back. After a moment of listening to Biggs Darklighter talking about the decision to defect from the Empire, Obi-Wan looked pensively out the window at the empty streets. "Not much traffic," he noted.

"The natives are scared," Nera said as she sat close enough to him for their thighs to touch. "There is a relatively small human population here, mostly it's Grans and Dugs, and things are very tense. The local garrison makes random arrests and beings don't return when they're taken. This is my third run here for the Alliance and it gets worse every time."

They finally arrived at the safe house, which proved to be a small apartment complex. "Here we are," Biggs said. "Winter should be back soon so we can get you set up."

"Winter is here?" Nera asked. "Why?"

"Well, this Celestial showed up with two wives, can you believe it? A former Imperial assassin named Mara Jade, and some Zabrak named Maris Brood. Didn't have anything but the clothes on their backs—and with Brood that wasn't much. So Winter took them clothes shopping."

"Only two?" Yoda said. "Wrong that sounds."

"'Only two'?" Obi-Wan said with an arched brow at his colleague. "You imply that two wives isn't enough?"

"If he is who I think, five he should have."

"You think you know him?" Kenobi asked.

"Of him, perhaps. Legend among my people there is, ancient to the beginning of time. Of the Lord of Light and the five wives pure who surround him. Close, he is. Let us go see."

Before they even had a chance to leave the speeder, though, Derek Klivian was running back out to meet them. "Biggs, we've got a problem! Imps tried to arrest Winter and those new guys at a topcaf in town. Now we have two AT-STs and a battalion of stormtroopers heading our way."

"Ah bantha poodoo!" Darklighter snarled. "Do we have time to evacuate?"

"We're trying," Klivian said.

Just as he spoke, a large bolt of green energy seared the sky as it approached the building. Everyone bent down to prepare for the explosion, but nothing happened. Rather, the bolt slammed into a blue energy shield and actually ricocheted back from where it came.

"When did we get a deflective ray shield?" Biggs asked.

"Never, we don't have shields here," Klivian said. "And they don't make shields that can deflect a blaster cannon back to its source."

The garage door opened as Alliance personnel poured out carrying crates of supplies to their large cargo speeders. Another burst of green destruction somehow deflected back at the approaching enemy forces.

The front door opened and four people stepped out. Three were attractive women with three distinct hair colors, and the fourth was a young man holding his hand up. Another burst of imperial fire struck the shield, and as the newcomers watched the young man stiffened and swayed a little under the blast.

Yoda swayed as well. "Powerful, he is," the small Jedi Master announced. "Protecting us, he is."

Just then the Imperial strike force came into view around a narrow street. The two Imperial scout walkers were coming at a quick pace, followed by an armored hover transport carrying a lot of soldiers.

Yoda turned to Obi-Wan. "Assist them, we must," he said.

"Just like Coruscant, then?"

Yoda nodded and the two Jedi Master lifted their hands. The young man and the women around him stopped their own efforts and watched as the Jedi Masters harnessed the Force to cause one of the two-legged AT-STs to lift off the ground and slam into its neighbor. It wasn't enough to completely destroy the vehicles, but it was more than enough to knock both down and block the road for a moment.

When they turned back, the young man stood right behind them with bright green eyes. "Nice job," he said with an easy grin. "I figured the elf could do it, but you too? Nice."

Yoda scowled. "Elf I am not!"

"Bullshit."

"Bullshit it is not. Yoda I am. Jedi Master."

The seemingly young man stood knelt down before Yoda. "You, my little green friend, are a post-division Low Elf. There has been some genetic drift—you're a lot heavier than your ancestors and a lot greener, but then again it's been a million years too. Are the High Elves still around too?"

Nearby, storm troopers had piled out of the blocked vehicles and were running toward them while the Alliance personnel continued to desperately load up their base. Yoda simply stared unblinking at the young man. Nearby, Obi-Wan said, "Who are you?"

"Oh, sorry. Name's Harry Potter. This is my wife, Mara Jade Potter. This is my other wife Maris, Lady Hufflepuff. This beautiful young lady is Winter. She's not my wife yet, but by Merlin I'm trying. She's even smarter than she is gorgeous."

Luke Skywalker was staring intently at Mara. "You're both his wives?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"When you've got it…" Harry said with a shrug. The first blaster bolt flew over their heads. The troopers were coming into range. "Well, that was just rude," he said. He looked behind the troopers and narrowed his eyes in concentration.

Suddenly a thunderous roar split the afternoon air. The stormtroopers stopped mid-step and turned around.

Where a fallen AT-ST used to be now stood a monstrous bull rancor, looking as if it had just come from the fungal forests of Felucia. The beast charged forward with tusks and claws, laying into the terrified troopers.

"That's better," Harry said. "Now, you were about to tell me who you were."

"Yoda, I am. Jedi Master."

"See, you even have an Elf name."

Yoda's ears dropped. "Demeaning that term is. Please do not use it."

Harry blinked. "I did not know that. In my time to be an elf was a great honor. I'm sorry if that is no longer the case. So, Yoda it is. And you?"

"Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am also a Jedi Master. My companions are Luke Skywalker and Captain Nera Dantels."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said. He looked to Winter just as the huge rancor chased a squad of stormtroopers past the garage entrance. "So, what's the evacuation plan?"

"We have a squadron of starfighters in that private spaceport," Biggs said. "And a transport to get the rest off planet."

"I can carry some too," Nera said quickly.

They joined the now ready caravan of speeders as they left the apartment complex. Every stormtrooper was gone, leaving an empty armored transport and a toppled AT-ST in its wake.

Harry, his wives, Winter, Obi-Wan and Yoda rode together in the first speeder, while Nera and Luke rode in the one behind with a pair of rebel spies. "How were you able to create that rancor?" Obi-Wan asked over the breeze of their passage.

"Magic," Harry said.

"It was a serious question, my young friend."

"And it was a serious answer, my even younger friend," Harry said with a wink. "Don't let the face fool you. I've been around, on-and-off, for a while."

"Since my race was young," Yoda confirmed.

"I feel drained," Mara suddenly announced. Beside her, Maris nodded in agreement.

"My fault," Harry admitted. "I tried not to pull on you two too much, but keep in mind I'm only at two-fifths strength. It took a lot to transfigure that metal walking thingy. Took even more to shield the house. Those green laser blasts are very strong. By the way—I've seen a few wars and I have to ask. What is the deal with a walking transport? I've seen it done better, but even the most effective walkers are still less effective than a big tank with hover capability or armored wheels."

"The Emperor likes them because they look imposing," Mara said.

"Dumbass," Harry muttered. "Well, I hope we don't have too many more of those in our way. I'm about wiped out." With that, he sank down into the seat between Mara and Maris. The two young women leaned on each of his shoulders, clearly as weary as he was.

"Legends say five wives you should have," Yoda said.

"The Emperor used five Dathomiri witches to perform the summoning ceremony," Mara explained. "They spoke to me a little on the shuttle. They were good people and told me to not let the Emperor's darkness consume me. They performed the ritual to revive Harry and it looked like all five were falling in love with him as soon as he emerged from the heartstone."

"Palpatine killed them," Harry snarled, obviously still angry about it. "Cut them down to maintain control of me. The bonds weren't fully cemented yet, so instead of dying with them, I was left in this sick limbo. He tried to keep me sedated but I came to. When I didn't go for his first suggestion, he got rather upset."

"It's because you saved me," Mara said.

"Stole you, more like."

"You saved me," she said again firmly.

Harry nodded and clutched her hand. "Anyway, bonding with Mara was enough to keep me in this body for a while longer, but it was killing her. But we found Bail Antillies and he introduced us to Winter, and we were able to find Maris."

"You saved me too," Maris said. She turned to look at Yoda and Obi-Wan. "My Jedi Master left me—Master Ti. But Harry saved me."

"We did not leave you, my dear," Obi-Wan. "Not on purpose, at any rate. I felt when Shaak Ti died. She was a very good friend of mine, in addition to being a fine Jedi Master. I simply could not come."

"If I came," Yoda said, "sense me the Emperor would."

"Does he not sense you now?" Jade asked.

"Not around me," Harry said.

"Right, the Blessed One is," Yoda said.

Harry snorted. "I'll make a deal. Call me Harry, I'll call you Yoda. Call me Blessed One, Lord of Light, Forever Mage or any of that other tripe, you're back to being an elf."

"Agreed, we are," Yoda said quickly.

Winter was shaking her head. "So all his stories, everything he's told us, is real?" she asked Yoda.

"Among the Whills who were once called High Elves, we know of…Harry. Gave the Force to us all, he did. But throw us from Heaven he did as well."

"Hey, you guys were doing to die!" Harry said, indignant. "Your whole race, you and the Whills, had a symbiotic relationship with us, and we were almost gone from the Continuum War! It was either pump you full of midi-chlorians and kick you out, or let you follow us into oblivion. And frankly we…well, I personally…loved your ancestors too much to do that."

Yoda merely nodded. "Know this, we do, Harry. Though great pain it caused, know this we do. Rejoice we will for your return."

Obi-Wan was still looking mystified, but Harry was too tired to try to tell him what was happening. Instead he leaned back and stared at the sky. Clouds were beginning to form as the convoy arrived to find a nightmare waiting for them.

Harry stared at the AT-AT with wide eyes. "Okay," he finally said, "Mara, I take it back. That is pretty intimidating."

The legion of stormtroopers filling the lot didn't help either.

"Are you perchance going to turn that into a rancor?" Obi-Wan asked.

"If I tried to pull that much power, I'd hurt Maris and Mara," Harry muttered. "I'm just not strong enough yet. But there might be another option."

As the convey rolled to a terrified stop, Harry stood and looked at the next speeder down. "You guys have any bombs?"

"We have a few thermal detonators," Darklighter called back from the driver's seat.

"Do they go 'boom?'"

"Yes, they do!"

"Toss 'em to me."

Beside Biggs, Klivian stood and tossed a pair of the explosives to Harry.

"Those won't do anything to an AT-AT," Mara said.

"Trust me," Harry said with a wink. "_Portus_," he whispered to one. Then he let it go where it hovered before him. With a flick of a finger, the detonator activated on its own, while he thumbed the other on.

"Give me a countdown," he said.

Mara, familiar with the devices, said, "Eight, seven, six, five, four…"

Harry dropped the one in his hand onto the floating one and both disappeared.

Three seconds later, the head of the AT-AT puffed as the two devices exploded within its thick armor; a moment later the whole head sank down. The monster did not fall over, but its primary weapons were now thoroughly disabled.

"You're on your own with the soldiers," Harry muttered.

The speeders quickly pulled out mountable laser cannons and hand-weapons. The stormtroopers, realizing battle had been engaged, did the same. In moments red and green bolts of destructive energy were filling the air.

"We're still badly outnumbered," Obi-Wan said as he crouched down.

A huge _thump_ made them all look up.

"Oh look, it's Norbert," Harry said.

The bull rancor from before roared as it came running up the road behind them. The beast lowered its massive head and charged directly into the formation of over a thousand storm troopers. Imperial fire left the rebels and turned to the beast.

Mara blinked. "Norbert?"

"Long story," he said.

Norbert was managing to inflict massive damage, but was also taking serious injury with the small arms fire. Still, it provided the rebels a chance to reform the convoy and plow through at top speed toward their hangars.

The convoy broke up as each person went to their assigned ships. Behind them, Norbert's cries turned from rage to pain. Harry actually stumbled as he climbed out, as did Maris. Mara started to stand, but had to sink down into her seat. "Wow," she muttered.

Harry nodded. "I know. We're on the edge of magical exhaustion. We need to go."

Winter solved the problem by helping Mara to her feet. Obi-Wan, Yoda, Nera and Luke followed. "Do we take my ship or yours?" she asked.

"Bail will kill me if we lose his skiff," Winter said as she struggled to help the exhausted Mara walk while bolts of blasterfire started to find them again. Norbert had fallen.

"With Dantels you should go, Obi-Wan," Yoda said. "Take young Skywalker with you. With Harry I must remain."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

The star destroyer stationed at Malastare maintained a comfortable orbit as its ground forces engaged the suspected rebel cell below. The captain was in fact taking a nap when his executive officer ran into his room and announced that a squadron of X-wing fighters was escaping the surface and only moments away from them.

The fight was short and vicious. The squadron of X-wings managed to land three torps into the main hangar before the sleeping giant was able to launch its TIEs or seal the bay. The resulting explosions caused internal chaos while the fighters picked off turbolaser and ion cannon batteries at will.

Following a few minutes after the starfighters came a general transport vessel, a freighter and a silver Naboo star skiff. The three ships were able to slip by the thoroughly distracted star destroyer with ease.

Only when they were past did the fighters break off, join formation and join the escaping vessels.


	13. It's Not Easy Being Me

This is an admittedly short chapter. But hey, sex!

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**Chapter Thirteen: It's Not Easy Being Me**

Darth Vader stared at the droid.

The droid stared back at him with its second protruding eye-stalk, while its main sensor pad blinked. It made a low humming noise followed by a burst of whistles.

They were half an hour away from rendezvousing with Tarkin's monstrosity. Vader entered his personal chambers and knelt to examine the astromech droid. "Hello, R2," he said softly. "Do you remember me?"

The droid gave a mournful whistle. "Yes, you do," Vader interpreted. "Tell me, old friend. How did you come to be in the possession of Bail Organa's daughter?"

The droid shook its entire dome. Vader said, "R2-D2, I was Anakin Skywalker. Tell me."

Again the droid refused. With a sigh that sounded oddly out of place, Vader then said, "Command Override Anakin 2."

The red scanner port on the droid blinked three times before the droid straightened. Without warning, a hologram started to play. Vader backed away and watched Padme, still alive, struggling weakly with the birth of twin children. He quickly sank back down to both knees as his wife held his children and named them. Luke, and _Leia_. His children. And then her last, gasping words. "_There is still good in him_."

A gloved, cybernetic hand rose to the blinking lights of his chest plate. "No." Nearby, a metal conference table crumpled into a large ball. The chairs, one by one, did the same.

"He _lied_ to me."

The three dueling droids sparked and then exploded, one after the other like so much confetti, littering the floor with sparking parts. Vader stood, shaking visibly as the air shimmered around him. "He dared lie to me!"

_Of course he lied to you,_ came the voice of Qui-Gon in his mind. _He is a Sith Lord. Lies are all they know._

"He told me he could help me save her!"

_He planted the vision that culminated in your own actions,_ Qui-Gon's voice whispered in his mind, as it often did in his dreams. _He lured you into your own self-fulfilling prophecy, just as the Sith lured the whole Jedi Order into their own self-fulfilling prophecy._

A ship marine, worried about the noise, rushed in with gun drawn. "My lord, is everything…"

His neck snapped so hard the skin fissured before his body was thrown out of the room like a projectile fired from a gun. Vader stood in the middle of the floor, fists clenched and vibrating before him.

_If you give your daughter to him then he will have truly won_, came the voice of Qui-Gon_. Padme's death will have been for nothing. She lived to give your life some meaning beyond death. Please, Anakin, don't take that last bit of meaning away from her._

Troopers were gathered outside the room but did not dare enter. Vader lowered his fists and the shimmering in the air quieted. He lifted a hand and with a wave, the restraining bolt fell away from the droid.

He turned and walked out of his chamber. The troopers parted for him and made no sound as he and R2 left. Halls cleared before him—word had spread that he was in a dark mood.

He arrived without interruption at the detention block. "Leave us," he ordered the three guards on duty.

The men shot off quick salutes before actually running from the room. Vader walked onto the raised grate and looked into the first and only occupied cell. Leia was pacing within. The moment his dark visage blocked the passage, she backed up a step, then resolutely lifted her chin in a silent challenge.

Just like her mother used to before a fight.

He had known the Princess in one capacity or another since she assumed her adopted father's duties. He always assumed she was a part of the Alliance as well and saw her only as a threat to the Empire. But now, he saw Padme's hair and eyes. He saw his own cheeks and chin. Padme's nose.

He reached up and turned off the containment field.

"Come to torture me?"

"I suffer more from this visit than you ever will," he said softly. His vocorder made the sound a basso rumble just above the lower limit of human hearing.

Her eyes saw R2-D2. "What are you…."

"I did not realize we have something in common," he said. "This droid served as my astromech droid during the Clone Wars."

Her warm brown eyes narrowed. "There was no Darth Vader who flew in the Clone Wars."

"No, there wasn't. This droid did belong to your mother. I have unlocked images of her should you wish to see them. For it is in her memory that I am going to release you."

"What?"

"Flee. An Alderaan vessel has fired against and damaged an Imperial vessel. I will have no choice but to respond. Do not go back to Alderaan. I…You will be killed."

"Is this some sick or twisted came, Vader?"

"Oh yes," Vader whispered. "More sick and twisted than even you can imagine. R2, take her to a jump shuttle. Threepio will be there. An escort will ensure you are not stopped."

Vader turned abruptly and left the room. The three guards were outside and snapped to attention. "I have decided there is insufficient evidence to detain the Princess," he said. "You are to escort her to the hangar bay with her droid and allow her to continue on her way."

If the men thought the order odd, they did not dare question it aloud. Vader stalked down the hall. A few minutes later Leia emerged, looking around in concern. One of the guards snapped his heels to her and nodded. "Princess, Lord Vader has informed us you are to be escorted to the hangar and released. If you will follow me?"

Vader was already done with the tracking device by the time Leia actually reached the hangar. She and R2 were gone just minutes later. When she was gone, Vader climbed into his personal TIE Advanced fighter and left the _Devastator_ with instructions to rendezvous with the Death Star.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Winter and Yoda watched the three sleeping figures intently. Somehow, the small cot in the star skiff had been expanded wide enough to hold the three tightly cuddled figures. All three looked exhausted even in their sleep.

Looking at them caused a hitch in her throat, so she returned to the cockpit. Moments later Yoda joined her. "Senator Amidala's ship this was," he said. "The reason that is for Bail's attachment."

"Senator Amidala?" Winter had never heard the name.

"Princess Leia's birth mother, she was. Strong and wise."

"You know…"

"Gave her to Bail, Obi-Wan and I did. So that she would be well-cared for. A good man Bail Organa is. A good friend. Helped us, he did, when the Jedi Temple fell."

"Well, hopefully he'll be happy to see you. We're going to Alderaan."

Yoda said nothing for the longest time. Finally, though, he broke the silence. "What do you fear, young Winter?"

"What?"

"When you looked at them, I sensed both desire to join them, and great fear."

"He's like a vacuum," she said. "Every woman he gets around seems to be sucked into his life. I have my own life. I don't want to be sucked into his."

"And yet you desire it, do you not?"

"Hormones."

Yoda stared at her intently for the longest time. "The Force I do not sense in you. I sense something else. Older."

"Harry called me a witch."

"Yes. Pure is your power, like his. Our oldest legends, written down into the Journal of the Whills, tells us that only five witches of virtue and power could revive the Lord of Light. That their magic pulled them to him in a joining of such power that they could not help but love him. But once the five were found, never did he look again at any other woman, no matter her power or beauty. What you feel, child, is your power longing for him. Like you, he is. Like him, you are. Your mind is fighting not just your heart, but your body and instinct. Fight long enough, only pain will you find."

"Are you saying I should go to him? Don't the Jedi forbid attachment?"

"For a long time did I believe that," he said. "A mistake this was. A terrible mistake, which cost many lives. Now I know that love is as strong as the Force. For Harry, even stronger. A being of love he is. Love he needs to receive, and love he needs to give in return."

"I am my own woman," Winter insisted.

"And always will you be," Yoda said. "Are young Mara or Maris anything but themselves with him?"

"They've been turned from warriors into a pair of giggling school girls." Only, Winter knew that wasn't true. The fight at the topcaf proved both women were capable of fighting.

_They need to know they can fight their own fights,_ Harry told her.

"My most ancient ancestors told stories of the many wives of Harry Potter," Yoda said. "Five in each life. Tens of thousands of lives. In all those years, in all those lives, never was a story told of one wife harming another. Never was told a story of a wife wishing to leave. Your own fate you will decide, but know that with the Lord of Light you will never regret."

"You're trying to get me to go to him."

"Yes," Yoda said simply. "Needs you he does. Need him you do. Need him the Galaxy does. Saw what he did on Malastare you did. Weak he was. At his full power, unimaginable will he be. Save us all he could."

"I'm only eighteen years old," Winter said in a small voice. "I'm not ready to face a choice like this."

"But old enough to fight the Empire you are?" Yoda asked.

She closed her eyes. "I'm tired," she finally said.

"Rest, then, child. Watch the ship I will. Many hours yet until Alderaan."

With a nod, Winter stood and left the cockpit. Though she did not mean for it, her feet took her once more back to the cabin where Harry rested with Maris and Mara. The three of them looked so peaceful and happy it made her eyes water.

Suddenly green eyes opened and stared at her. Without stirring from her sleep, Maris gently scooted over, exposing a narrow space. Harry simply looked at her, not even lifting a hand.

Winter wiped her eyes and sniffed. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she whispered. She slowly climbed onto the bed, as fully clothed as the other three, and laid down on her side next to Harry.

Almost as soon as she settled, Maris scooted back in and a hand snaked over her ribs and onto the thin fabric covering her stomach. She looked up in time to see Harry gently incline his head down to kiss her hairline.

"Sleep, love," he whispered to her. "Decisions can wait until we wake."

The warmth was powerful, but what she found truly intoxicating was the blossoming heat in her chest. She did not have any one word to describe it—rather it was a series of emotions wrapped into one confusing bundle. Shyness, fear, anticipation, hope, longing, desire, exultation, peace, love. Safety.

The last was the most powerful. Between these bodies, she felt as safe as she did when Queen Breha would tuck her in at night as a child. It was a feeling she did not want to ever lose.

Awake or not, Winter realized she had made her decision. She looked up with ice-blue eyes and found Harry still looking down at her. "Yes," she whispered, so as not to wake the other girls.

"Thank you," he whispered back.

It was not a flood, like with Maris or even Mara. Instead, it was a steady, even flow of energy as he gradually opened up his bond. Her magic responded in kind, and instantly the heat in her chest started to migrate down her stomach and deep into her loins. Sexual desire overwhelmed her for the first time in her life, and she found herself desperate for this man.

She did not want to wake the others, so she fought against the desire as much as she could, until the hand that rested on her stomach slowly drifted up and undid the static seal of her unitard. The fabric parted down her chest, down her navel, all the way to below her belly button.

"What are you…?"

Purple lips whispered into her neck, "We feel what you feel. We crave what you crave."

Across Harry, a delicate yet calloused hand reached across and undid the binder for her chest support.

"Group seduction," Winter accused without heat.

"The consummation of a bond," Harry answered. He passed a hand over her, and suddenly her clothes were gone, folded nearly in a corner of the room. His joined hers a moment later. From the feel of hot flesh pressing against her back, Winter realized that all of them were somehow naked.

"I…I've never…"

"Neither had we," Maris assured her.

Mara sat up, young and lithe, with beautiful, pale skin. Winter looked at the young woman's pert breasts, until she noticed that one of Mara's nipples dangled dangerously close to Harry's penis.

"Can I…."

"Yes."

Gently she touched him, pulling back with a nervous laugh when he twitched in response. "I've often wondered what it was like."

"Me too," Mara confessed.

Winter realized she was wet between her legs with an anticipation she had never felt before. Boys were simply not something she had interest in growing up. But now, staring down at this beautiful young man's body, she found she couldn't wait.

"Be on top," Harry advised her. "You can control how fast you want to go. You won't hurt me, I promise."

Winter glanced at the other two, who smiled encouragingly at her. So she mounted him, approaching the actual penetration slowly. There was only the briefest discomfort until a wave of heat removed it. She closed her eyes when she felt him filling her entirely. She did not move on him, but instead simply sat and absorbed the sensation.

"How can it feel so good?" she asked.

"With the bonds, our magic has joined," Harry explained. "Your magic has shifted to suit mine. Your magical core acted on an instinctual level because it sensed what I could do for you. It took a while for your mind to catch up."

"Is this the part where you say you love me?"

"I've loved you since I tasted your magic, Winter, Lady Ravenclaw," he assured her. He sat up until his face was nearly level with hers. "And before Magic and your sister wives I swear to love you until the end of days." He reached up both hands and pulled her face down until their lips met. The full force of the bond was finally unleashed and Winter cried out as an orgasm shook her to her soul.

She could not stay still after that and began to rock firmly against him. He responded in kind and the two made passionate love, pausing in their kisses only long enough to kiss the others, until they finished in a swirl of power and life.

When they finished, Mara gave Harry only a moment's pause before she replaced the still trembling Winter. When she finished, Maris took a turn as well. Watching this man who by magic was now her husband make love and finish strongly three times in a row in one hour, only to then return to her ready to fulfill every fantasy she never knew she had, she began to understand what he was trying to tell her earlier.

Though she would have to share him, she believed him now when he promised she would never be in want of him.


	14. A Million Voices Cried Out

Chapter 13 review responses are available in my forums. Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: A Million Voices Cried Out…**

Princess Leia Organa was, if nothing else, a very smart woman. She trusted Darth Vader about a far as she could throw him. His claim to have flown in the Clone Wars using R2 was patently absurd.

Yet, she could have sworn there was pain in his voice when he spoke to her.

Even so, she did not believe her release was a coincidence. In fact, she fully anticipated the small ship had a tracking device in it. She debated all the places she could go; she knew that the base on Dantooine had just been evacuated, but she did not want to lead Imperial Forces to the new base on Yavin IV.

She could go back to Imperial Center, but with the _Tantive IV_ having fired on a star destroyer, she doubted she would be warmly welcomed there by the Emperor. So, she decided to go to the only place left to her.

She was heading home.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"And now we are three," Mara intoned.

"If this is what it feels like with just three, I'm tempted to go drag in the first two women I meet," Maris said with a luxurious stretch. "I feel all tingly."

"I think that has to do more with the sex than the bonding," Winter speculated. "I'm a bit tingly myself."

"It's magic," Harry said. "Winter, you don't feel it as much because you've always been magical. But with Mara and Maris's transition from midi-chlorian based to anaphasic based beings complete, you are all three now fully-fledged Mages."

Mildly concerned, Mara turned to where her clothes were piled. The clothes lifted into the air and floated to her. "It…it's actually easier than before."

"Since you and Maris trained in the Force, you have some wandless magical skills. To unlock your full potential we'll need to find some foci."

"I wonder if we could use our lightsaber?" Mara said. "The focusing crystal has mystical properties."

"Let's take a look." She handed over her black without hesitation, but Harry immediately shook his head. "Nope, there's no innate magic in it. It's entirely mechanical. Still, it's a good idea in theory. I wonder if we could construct a lightsaber with a magical core, assuming there is magical life in the galaxy."

"What if there isn't anywhere?" Winter asked.

"You're proof there is."

"What do you mean?"

"Throughout history, some beings have responded to the energy of magic by becoming magical themselves, while others if exposed enough die out over the centuries. It's a cumulative effect. You were in all likelihood simply born without midi-chlorians. We knew it might happen when my wives and I designed them. Instead of dying, though, your body evolved. You developed a magical core that thrived upon the ambient magic that fills this galaxy. You were born a witch. A mage. If it happened to you, then it happened to other beings as well, probably millions of them. Perhaps not all sentient, but it happened. The rancors on Felucia were patently magical. When this war is over, we'll start trying to find them."

He climbed out of bed, still drenched in sweat. "In the meantime, does this skiff have a shower?"

"Sonic shower only," Winter said. "Sorry."

"Sonic will do fine," Harry said as he ducked into the small fresher.

Left alone, the three women turned and stared at each other. "So, we have a Rebel intelligence officer, a redeemed Sith assassin and a fallen padawan," Mara said. "What next, a princess?"

"I hope not," Winter said. "As happy as I feel, Bail would kill me if I got his daughter mixed up in all of this."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Grand Moff Tarkin stared incredulously at the report. "He did what?"

"Lord Vader let the princess go," General Tagge said.

Tarkin leaned back in his seat and stared at the flimsiplast report. "If he let her go, he must have placed a tracking device on her ship. Nonetheless, Organa can no longer avoid the punishment coming to him. Lay in a course to Alderaan, full speed. We will show the good Viceroy, and the whole galaxy, just what it means to defy the Empire."

"Yes, sir!" General Tagge said as he turned and walked out.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"I'm sure they have a tracking device on the ship," Leia said into the holocomm. "They could be monitoring this very communication."

"I understand," Bail said. "It was the right thing to do, coming home, despite Vader's warnings. When will you arrive?"

Leia sighed. Her back was absolutely killing her and she had a pounding headache. The skiff was little more than an atmospheric jitney and was not meant for long periods of flight. "Another eight hours at least."

"I'll have a bottle of our finest vintage and a hot bath waiting for you," Bail promised.

"Thank you. So…father, what is it?"

The hologram somehow captured the expression of pure terror that crossed the Viceroy's face. "By the Force!" he exclaimed. "Leia, change your course. Don't come to Alderaan! The Death Star has arrived and…"

He then looked right at her. "Leia, I love you. You need to ask Artoo about your family. You deserve to know the truth of who you really are. Search for the Celestial. He's with Winter and can help us. May the Force be with you, and never forget I…"

The transmission ended abruptly. Panic and fear warred for supremacy in Leia's chest. Something unbelievably horrible had happened, but she couldn't imagine what.

She neither said nor did anything as her skiff continued uninterrupted toward the only home she had ever known. She felt tears well in her eyes and knew—just knew—that she had lost that home. She stared into the maddening swirl of hyperspace for another half hour before her circumstances forced her to act. She pulled back the throttle and brought the ship out of hyperspace completely.

"Artoo, I need you to open up a secure Alliance signal." When the droid had the signal established, she said into her receiver, "Alderaan Two requesting assistance."

The droid beeped in response. The translator screen read that he was sending out the signal now. They drifted in the void of space for perhaps an hour before Artoo reported a signal received, though it was audio only.

"Alderaan Two, security verification, please."

"Blue Banthas do not eat pink nerfs," Leia said.

"Acknowledged. This is Captain Biggs Darklighter recently out of Malastare. What is the nature of your emergency?"

"My ship has been tagged with a tracking device. I've received communication that Alderaan may have been compromised. I need to get off this ship."

"Understood. Head to the following coordinates. We will rendezvous and transfer you to a friendly ship."

The coordinates came. Artoo made the necessary adjustments and they quickly went to hyperspace. Half a light year away, a TIE advanced fighter also entered hyperspace.

When Leia came out of hyperspace at the designated coordinates, she saw a small group of ships a few klicks away. One looked like a standard Alliance transport. One was an unfamiliar freighter, while the third was….

She flicked on the Alderaani royal signal. "Winter, is that you in father's prize?"

"Busy is Winter," came a high-pitched, nasal voice. "Jedi Master Yoda this is. Princess Leia, this would be?"

Leia leaned back in shock. "Master Yoda? Father said you were dead!"

"A lie told for my safety," the Jedi said. "Terrible things have happened. Terrible things. Board the freighter you must. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi awaits."

Another name of legend, though this one was a man she was actually trying to reach when the Death Star plans fell into her hands. "Very well. Freighter, this is Princess Leia Organa requesting permission to dock."

"Granted. Come along the ventral side. I have a small docking bay that should hold you."

"Thank you."

It took ten minutes to bring her skiff into position. The _Starduster_ opened its cargo bay and took the small Imperial shuttle inside—she wasted no time in climbing out. The cabin door opened and an old man in a dusty Jedi robe walked out.

He stared at her a moment before smiling sadly. "You must be Leia. I am Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"General Kenobi," she said. "Sir, my ship almost certainly has a tracking device on it. We need to dispose of it."

"Then by all means, let's do so. Please come with me." He led her out of the cargo hold and into the ship itself until they reached a spacious but crowded cockpit. "Captain Dantels, Princess Leia Organa. The Princess tells me her ship must be abandoned."

"Easy enough." Nera opened the cargo doors and allowed the unpowered skiff to float free. She then flicked her communications tab. "All ships, Alderaan Two has been recovered. Let's get moving."

Minutes later they were in the swirling blue tunnel of hyperspace. Leia turned to Obi-Wan. "General, you should know that this R2 unit holds the complete technical specifications of the Death Star. If we…what?"

Obi-Wan had taken her shoulders and stared at her for the longest time. Only when she stopped did he speak. "Princess, a few minutes ago there was a general announcement broadcast over the whole holonet. The Death Star has already struck. Alderaan has been destroyed."

It was like a blow to the stomach. Leia's knees simply collapsed. She did not faint, she simply collapsed to the floor. "No," she whispered, though she knew it was true. Her home was gone. Her father, her aunts, everything she had ever known or loved. It was all gone. "No."

In her seat, Nera was staring at the young princess with sad eyes, but said nothing else.

"My whole family," Leia whispered. "All gone."

"Not all," Obi-wan said.

She looked up sharply. "Father got away?"

"No, Leia. I wish it were otherwise, but no one had time to escape. No, I am referring to something else. Someone else. Please, come with me."

He led her out of the cockpit into a cramped but comfortable common area where Luke Skywalker was playing holochess with one of the Alliance agents from Malastare. He looked up after laughing at the other man's joke and saw Leia. He stood up, blushing furiously.

"Hello," he said a bit awkwardly. "I'm Luke Skywalker. Are you okay?"

"It's not been a good day," Leia said.

"Luke, Leia," Obi-wan said, "there is something you should see. Artoo, I believe Bail never wiped your memory. Please play the events of Polis Massa for our two young friends."

"General, please forgive me, but I really wish to be alone…"

She stopped when an image of a woman appeared.

She was obviously in labor. In an observation window in view of the hologram stood a much younger Bail Organa and a much younger Obi-Wan Kenobi. The woman's screams of pain silenced Leia's initial complaints. "Who is she?"

"She is Senator Padme Amidala, former Queen of Naboo," Obi-Wan said. "A great personal friend; and your mother."

Leia's eyes widened, but before she could ask, the woman went into her final contractions. A child was born, only the child was obviously male. Then a second child was born, female. When the two infants were handed to the exhausted mother, she named them. Luke and Leia.

"There is still good in him," the woman told Obi-Wan before she breathed her last breath.

When the image ended, Leia had both hands over her mouth and was weeping inconsolably, while Luke simply stared as if struck. He looked up at Obi-Wan. "You said my father was a Jedi knight."

"He was. The most powerful of our order, Anakin Skywalker. But he became twisted with the Dark Side and lost sight of who he was. He became Darth Vader."

"No!" The Force did not prepare Obi-Wan for Leia's rage. She stood and pounded his chest with her fist. "No! You don't tell me this, not after I've lost my entire world! You don't tell me he is my father after what he's done to me! You don't! You can't! You heartless bastard!"

She spun away from the old Jedi and ran into the nearest open room. Obi-Wan remained with his head bowed. "Ben, is my father really Darth Vader?"

"Yes, Luke," Obi-Wan said. "That's why you and your sister were separated. We knew that if the Emperor gained the children of Darth Vader, you would both be turned into slaves of the Dark Side. And so Bail, Yoda and I split you up. Leia was raised by Bail on Alderaan. You were raised by your father's step-brother on Tattooine. It was not a perfect situation, but it was the best we could do at the time."

The Alliance agent looked from Luke to Obi-Wan. "General, sir, I don't doubt your intentions, but with all due respect your timing sucks."

"Indeed. I wish I could disagree with you. I thought learning that she had a brother would make her feel better."

"Yeah, but then you told us Darth Vader was our dad," Luke pointed out.

An hour later, Luke knocked on the door.

"Go away."

"No."

The door opened and the tear-stained visage of the princess appeared. "What do you want?"

"To make my sister feel better?" Luke said weakly. It sounded so much better in his head.

She huffed and turned back to the room. She had picked out, quite by accident, a guest bunk. Luke followed her in. "I'm sorry about Alderaan. I…I'm just sorry, I guess."

She just shook her head and took a deep, ragged sigh. "I can't believe it's all gone."

He sat down on the bunk beside her. "What happened?"

"The Death Star."

"Someone else mentioned it. A big battlestation, right?"

"With a weapon that can vaporize whole planets," Leia said. "I have the plans for it in my droid. We've got to destroy it somehow."

"I'll do anything I can," Luke promised impulsively. Then, because he didn't know what else to do, he put his arm around her shoulder. "Artoo had more pictures of our mom. She was really beautiful. You look a lot like her."

"I thought I remembered my mother," Leia said. "But I realize that it was Breha I was remembering, not my birth mother. But Bail told me Artoo held information of my family." She wiped an eye before turning to look long and hard at Luke. "Where are you from?"

"Tattooine. My aunt and uncle were moisture farmers."

"Are you a Jedi?"

"Ben says I can be. They've started showing me some meditations and stuff, but nothing too hard yet. So far we're just following Harry around."

"Harry?"

"Yeah, he's this wizard Celestial who can turn Imperial scout walkers into rancors. He has two wives and was hitting on another one. Master Yoda said he could save the galaxy."

_Search for the Celestial. He's with Winter and can help us._ That's what Bail had said. "Where is he?"

"He's in that wizard Naboo ship with Master Yoda, his wives and that white-haired girl he's hitting on."

"Really?" With renewed strength Leia left the cabin with Luke right on her heels like a puppy. Obi-Wan stood to follow, but stopped when she glared at him. She continued onto the cockpit after he sat down.

"Captain," she said with a flash of her old strength, "could we signal the Naboo ship in your convoy?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Naboo yacht, this is Princess Leia. Is Winter still occupied?"

She heard whispers on the other side, then, "Leia, where are you?"

"I'm on board the…"

"_Starduster_," Dantels volunteered.

"…_Starduster_ with General Kenobi and Luke Skywalker. Luke was telling me an interesting tail about a Celestial with two wives who was hitting on a third. Anything you wish to share with me?"

"Leia…" Winter turned away from the receiver, but she could still be heard. "Harry, can you take me over there like you did on the planet?"

A moment later, two figures appeared in the cockpit. Dantels shrieked and then cursed. "Do not do that!" she declared.

"Sorry," Harry said with a shrug that said he was lying. Beside him, Winter wrapped the startled Leia into a strong hug, and did not let go for the longest time. Only when they parted did Leia notice that Winter had been crying too.

"It's all gone," Winter finally said. "The broadcast actually showed the explosion. It vaporized the planet in seconds."

Leia fought against a new round of tears, determined not to lose. "I know." She turned to Harry. "My father said that there was a Celestial who could help."

"There is," Harry agreed. "Harry Potter, a pleasure."

He offered a hand, but Winter took it before Leia could. "Harry, please, not her. Bail did not want her getting sucked into this."

"Sucked into what?" Leia demanded.

"I have an idea," Harry said. "Let's go back to the skiff."

"What?" Winter asked, wide-eyed. "No, I don't think that's a…."

A pop and apparition later, Harry, Winter and Leia stood in the common area of the skiff. Nearby, Mara and Maris stared as they ate the ship's rations. "Who's this?" Mara asked.

"This is Princess Leia Organa," Harry said. "Princess, this is Mara Jade Potter. She was a former Sith-trained Imperial Assassin before I pulled her from the Emperor. This is former Jedi Padwan Maris…"

"Brood," Leia finished. "You abducted my father."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Maris said with a chastised smile.

"Good, you know each other," Harry said with a happy grin. "And of course you know Winter, Lady Ravenclaw."

"Lady whatsis-claw?"

"My third wife," Harry said proudly.

"Third wife?" Leia felt her eyes strain. "Winter, you are someone's third wife? Do you even like boys? How in the hell did that happen? When did this happen? And why did Bail tell me to stay out of it?"

"Long story short," Harry said, "I am a two million year old wizard with sufficient power to overthrow the Empire, but only when I have five wives to help bond my soul to this body."

Winter blinked. "You…you summarized that surprisingly well."

"I may not be that smart, but I've had lots of time to scale down the explanations," Harry said. He turned to Leia. "And because the Force runs in your veins, you could be number four. However, Winter is right. Bail expressed a desire for you not to be involved with me, and though I did not know him long, I sensed he was a good man. So I will make no effort to seduce you or in any way hint at the incredible, soul-searing, mind-shattering sex that I and Winter have had in the past few hours."

"Harry!" Winter protested.

"Are you saying it wasn't soul-searing, mind-blowing sex?"

"You know it was, but you're…ooooh!" Frustrated, Winter stamped her foot and walked into the bedroom.

Harry turned back to Leia and grinned. However, the grin faded into a more somber expression. "I am sorry for your loss. Like I said, he was a good man who helped me. And so I will help you."

"If I sleep with you?" Leia said angrily.

"What? No, no sex required. I don't work that way. I'm going to head over to the _Starduster_ and talk to the Jedi. Yo, Yoda, you coming?"

The ancient Jedi Master shambled into the room. "Summon me like a servant, do you?"

"Nah, I was just asking if you wanted to go over to the _Starduster_."

Yoda looked from Mara and Maris, to the furious face of Princess Leia. "Good idea that is. Come I will."

"What about me!" Leia demanded.

"I figured it be good for you to have some girl time," Harry said with a wink before he knelt down, put a hand on Yoda's small arm, and the two disappeared with a pop.

Leia stamped her foot. "Why that arrogant bastard!"

Nearby, Mara leaned over to Maris and in a not so subtle whisper said, "I like her!"


	15. The Fourth Moon

Review responses for Chapter 14 are available in my forums. Thank you for reading.

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: The Fourth Moon**

Leia couldn't stop laughing. It was confusing, because she felt both angry at herself for the laughter and guilty that she could dare laugh so soon after losing her world. And yet, she was laughing so hard she was having difficulty even breathing. Nearby, Mara was still guffawing, which interrupted the story. Winter was shaking her head even while grinning, and Maris was giggling like a little girl.

"And then…and then," Mara started, fighting to catch her breath, "he said, 'I wonder if I could turn his respirator off' and Vader actually covered up his chest plate!"

Leia collapsed back on the bench, unable to contain the laughter. Tears were running down her cheeks from the force of the humor. Finally they were able to catch their breath and the four of them found themselves staring at each other in silence.

"Winter," Leia said after she took a long breath to calm herself, "are you sure about this?"

"I wasn't at first," Winter admitted. "It seemed so outlandish, like some teen-age boy's fantasy. One man, five wives. But the thing is, this magic inside of me was reaching out for him. The first moment I saw him, something inside me wanted to be with him. And when I saw how he helped Maris, I realized that this wasn't a pervert or a scam artist. He has power, Leia. Power unlike anything I've ever seen or imagined. And when I finally agreed it was…." She shuddered, unable to describe it.

"I feel safe with him," Maris said. "I've never really felt safe with anyone, but I feel safe with him."

"I feel strong and free," Mara said. "I didn't realize I was a slave until he showed me freedom. I'm married to him, and yet I feel freer than I ever did with the Emperor. And in the end, he was willing to die rather than force me to be with him."

"And what's the point of having all of us?"

"He's a being of energy," Mara said, having heard the most complete version of the story. "Once, millions of years ago, he was an ordinary teenager who was forced to sacrifice his own life to save those he loved. But his power was so great that he and his first wives made an artifact that anchored his soul to this plane of existence. It was only supposed to be used the one time, so that the magical heritage he carried wouldn't die out with him. But over the years, it's been used again and again. Since it was made in a ritual that bound the love of his five wives to him, it takes five women of power and virtue to revive him. He said four could do it as well, but that causes a delay in his memories and power. And those five women anchor his soul and magic into the newly made body. There's other reasons too—if language has changed he learns the language from them. They guide him into the new culture, educate him if necessary, and provide a moral compass."

"That may be the most important," Winter said. "Harry can kill so easily it is frightening. He could take apart the galaxy if he chose to. And if he was irritated enough, he just might. But with five good women to guide him, that won't happen."

"That and just one women isn't enough for him," Mara said.

Leia snorted.

"You don't understand," Mara said. "He was draining me. It was really starting to hurt, and he knew it. He was really becoming afraid before we found Maris. It takes energy to sustain him, energy we provide. Totally aside from his own power, to keep him alive and human, he needs us."

"And he wants you," Winter finished. "That's why he left you here with us. He's hoping we'll talk you into joining him."

"Like he talked you?"

"Yeah."

"So the first women to come along he snatches up?"

"No," Mara said. "He turned down Inquisitor Drayneen before he even had his full power. She's the most beautiful of the Inquisitors, and was just about flashing him during their interview. He told me her darkness made him ugly to her. Only a woman of virtue and power. Like us. And like you."

Leia said nothing. She had not told them that Darth Vader was her father—some things were still to fresh and painful. But sitting in this room talking to three young women, Leia felt oddly at peace. The wound didn't sting as badly; the anger didn't simmer as brightly. She found herself liking them as friends, even Maris.

Leia heard the beeping first, but Winter was close behind as all four women made their way to the cockpit. "Coming out of hyperspace now," Winter said.

They arrived on the edge of a gas giant planetary system with 26 moons, three of which were habitable. They were heading toward the fourth one, which appeared green, blue and flush with life.

Winter immediately transmitted their security code, while the other two ships did the same.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Luke Skywalker was in heaven.

Yavin IV was the primary rebel base. They did not have any capital ships in orbit; in fact the Rebellion had only a handful of capital ships at all. What they did have was the largest flight of fighters the Alliance currently possessed.

Luke walked among the X-Wing fighters and Y-Wing bombers as if in a trance. "They're beautiful, aren't they?" Biggs asked as he walked beside the younger man.

"They are," Luke said.

"You know, we have about five more starfighters than pilots," Darklighter said with a grin. "Care to take a few passes in the simulator?"

Luke's answering grin lit up the whole bay.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

General Dan Dodonna stared at Obi-Wan and Yoda each in silence for several minutes before clearing his throat loudly. "So, let me make sure I understand—this young man who is currently sleeping with three women, one of whom is a senior intelligence officer, and is actively attempting to woo the only daughter of my dearest friend on the very day that friend died—is a two million year old super powerful being that could win our war?"

"Well, when you say it like that…" Obi-Wan began.

"Yes," Yoda said, more to the point.

"We lost General Kota and Jedi Knight Ylenic It'kla with Alderaan," Dodonna said. "Mon and Garm are fighting like bickering siblings already; Bel Iblis is actually threatening to withdraw from the Alliance entirely. And now you're coming here with this wild story? My friends, it has been a very bad day."

"Bail was a friend to all of us," Obi-Wan said. "When the temple fell, he helped us recover. But that does not change the fact that Harry is a being of incredible power."

"I hope for your sakes that is true," Dodonna said. "Because the Death Star is out there. It has already struck, Force help us all, and somehow we have to find a way to destroy it."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Darth Vader brought his TIE Advanced down quietly five hundred kilometers from the tracking signal he discretely placed on Artoo. He knew that Leia would never discard an astromech like R2-D2. Totally aside from the cost of such a droid, it would have been in her family for her entire life.

He recognized the moon; he had been there years ago as a padawan. In fact, it was one of the first of his many brushes with the Dark Side when he fought Asajj Ventress for the first time. Today he was hunting different prey.

He removed the swoop bike from its storage unit and had it assembled in minutes. Without hesitation, the armored Dark Lord of the Sith climbed aboard and started soaring through the thick jungle of Yavin, trusting the Force to guide his way safely.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"I hate jungles," Harry moped as he wandered through the maze of temples around the base.

Maris walked with him, while Mara and Winter were working on quarters for the burgeoning family back in the base. "I don't mind it," she said. "It reminds me a little of Felucia."

He grinned at her a moment, before turning his attention back to the temple they were passing by at the moment. Unlike the massive ziggurat that housed the main Alliance complex, this one was only a few levels high and was surrounded by statues of strange monkey-like creatures Maris called woolamanders.

He paused a moment and examined the palace in detail before looking out over the forest. "Maris, do me a favor and reach out your senses."

She did so, gasping at what she felt. "Force-strong creatures?"

"I don't think so," Harry said. "Feels more like a magical creature to me. Let's go see."

They stopped on the edge of the jungle and simply stared in. "Harry?"

"The magical creatures of the old galaxy didn't do well in the transition," he explained. "It took a week to transfer each planet from one galaxy to the other. And that was using the…well, essentially it was a huge intergalactic portkey. But for that week, the magical creatures on the preserve worlds suffered a lot. But we didn't remove their magic like we did the elves. We seeded the mid-chloriens because the few of us that survived the war were dying by then. By then it was me, my wives at the time and a handful of their most powerful elders. We expended ourselves seeding the midi-chlorians."

"Why?" Maris asked.

"We were dying anyway," he shrugged. "My wives were, anyway. It was odd with those last women—they weren't even human any more, not like you are Maris. You have your horns, but essentially you're human. But Mages at the end were almost as much magic as body. The bonds were shared were different because they were unable to take any physical pleasure from sex. We tried and I was able to share my pleasure with them, but they're bodies had evolved beyond sexual reproduction. They were essentially immortal, and were just as powerful in their own way as I was. Our race's evolution had finally caught up with me. But they were lonely. And when we understood that our own energy was dangerous to the life in this new galaxy, we decided it was worth our lives to save them."

He continued to look into the jungle even as he spoke. Maris did the same, trying to imagine beings powerful enough to move whole worlds. That is when she spotted movement from the center of the trees.

A large reptilian head emerged, hinged on a sinuous neck. A long, serpentine body followed, widening only at the front arms. The arms were webbed, almost as if they were vestigial wings.

The creature was at least twenty meters long. "Harry?" Maris whispered as she fingered her shotos.

Harry, though, merely hissed at the creature. It reared up as if struck. _You speak the ancient tongue_, the creature hissed back.

Maris blinked. "I understood that," she whispered.

"Through me," Harry said. He took a step toward the creature that could have swallowed him in a single bit. _I am the Forever Mage, Speaker to Serpents_, he hissed back. _I knew of your ancestors, the mighty dragons that soared through the skies._

_My kind have not flown for many generations. But you we speak off. You shine with blood of the Skies_.

"Magic," Harry translated. _You too shine with great power, mighty one. Are there others such as yourself here_?

_We are few, but strong. The wars of two-legs have no meaning for us._

_Yet the two-legs have power enough to crack the egg of creation itself, Mighty One. I fight against those that would do so. But my mates require a focus for their power. The heartstrings of a dragon would allow my mates the tools they need to protect all those beings blessed by the blood of the skies._

The descendent of the dragons turned its head to Maris and took a long, deep sniff. Maris stayed perfectly still. _This one smells of war and power._

_She is a mighty warrior, and powerful she is. A war rages across the heavens. Billions have died. I have come to end the war. She fights with me._

The dragon made no outward sign of understanding and reared back like a giant snake. _Our legends say the Speaker was Champion of the Skies. Powerful and friend to all dragons. Are you this one?_

_I am_.

The dragon drew its head until the sharp tip of its jaw was an inch from Harry and large, dragon-green eyes stared into Harry's sea green orbs. _Show me._

Maris could feel magic flowing between their eyes. She had no idea what Harry was showing the creature, but it took several minutes. When at last the magic faded, the dragon reared back as if struck and roared into the sky. While the roar echoed through the trees, it reached up one clawed hand and touched its chest. Where it did so, thin shimmering strings appeared, five in all.

The roar finally ended and the dragon fell back to ground level. _Strings of my heart_, the creature said. _I am Kalatacik, Eldest One. Know this as you make the foci for your mates._

_I will honor you and this mighty gift,_ Harry said with a deep bow. _I thank you, friend Kalatacik. For the safety of you and your kin, fleet to the far side of this world. Do not stay within twenty day's journey of this place._

Harry held out his hands and received the shimmering strings. He and Maris did not move until the dragon had disappeared back into the trees. "What just happened?" Maris asked.

"Two things. One, we confirmed that creatures who live for a thousand years don't evolve as quickly as other creatures. Two, we have the cores for your wands. We'll have to do a blood ritual to make them actually match you, but after that you girls can start learning magic proper. Plus we'll have enough for five wives."

"Still going after Leia?"

Harry looked at the eldest of his wives, and the least experienced. "You tell me. It's not just my decision any more. You, Mara and Winter get a say too."

"Really?"

Harry shrugged. "She's not just marrying me, she's marrying all of us."

"Hmmm. Well, I like her."

"Good. What did you girls talk about why I and Yoda ran away?"

"All sorts of things," Maris said as the two started walking back to the main base.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

_He_ was near. Vader fought to control the tremor of rage. Obi-Wan was still alive, and he was nearby. So was Yoda.

The Sith shrouded himself in the Force, but even so could feel the two powerful Jedi. He did not know how either survived, but it was difficult not to rush out and find them immediately to kill.

It was even more difficult not to seek _her_ out. Leia Organa. Leia Skywalker. His daughter, the child he never knew existed.

"Vader!

Darth Vader turned around, his saber at the ready, to find a girl of seventeen staring at him. "Mara Jade," the Dark Lord said menacingly. "The Emperor is most displeased with your treachery."

"I know you killed my parents," Jade said.

"Then you also know I will kill you," he snarled.

He struck first, accompanying his strike with a powerful Force blow. Though Mara was not as powerful as he was, she was very fast and bounded away from the twin blows that would surely have killed her.

He struck again and again, relentless in his pursuit. He attacked with the same ferocity he showed to Jedi. In fact, Mara was as good as a Jedi to him, an object to be destroyed. Whenever their swords collided, Mara had no choice but to give or be crushed. She could not stand directly against his cybernetic strength.

Whenever they clashed in the Force, she found herself pushed back by his towering rage. The rage was not just against her, he was mad at the whole galaxy and the Sith Lord who ruled it. However, he harnessed that rage to power his attack now.

He could see fear on Mara's face as she realized how horrifically she was outclassed. No matter how good her training, she was nothing but a shadow compared to one raised since infancy in the Force.

"You will die today, Mara Jade," Vader said after one particularly vicious Force-blow threw her from the banch of a tree into a copse of bushes. He stalked toward her, sensing her weakness and an injury to her side.

Then everything went wrong—everything being Harry Potter. He appeared with a pop with a young Zabrak woman by his side. The girl also had lightsabers, though they took the forms of twin guard shoto blades.

Vader recognized her as the padawan Malek fought against on Felucia. "You," Vader said.

"Her," Harry said.

"What?"

"I get tired of talking about myself," came the light-handed reply. "So, Vadey, what's up? Still wearing the codpiece, I see."

With a roar of anger Vader rushed forward with all his power. Only to bounce off.

"You do have some power," Harry admitted. "Raging, homicidal power, but its there. Too bad you're a nutjob. But I figure you're here, so I should kill you now."

"Harry, wait!" Mara said. With Maris's help she was climbing back to her feet. "Don't kill him yet."

"How 'bout I turn him into a monkey lizard? Or one of the woolamanders?"

"He's Leia's birth father," Mara said. "She just found out herself."

"Ahh, I was wondering why she was so bothered. She admit it to you girls?"

"Yes."

Vader had gone still at this announcement. "Bring her to me," he commanded.

"Yeah, I don't think that's gonna happen," Harry said. "You came here looking for her, didn't you? Maybe a tracking device on that little garbage can robot of hers?"

"Bring her too me," Vader growled again.

"How 'bout I bring you to her?" Harry flicked a wrist, and suddenly Vader stiffened and fell over like a plank.

"Nice trick," Mara admired.

"Won't last forever. I'll give Dark Codpiece this—he has real power. He's already trying to fight it off. We're going to have to hurry if we want to get him back to the base."

"For what?"

"Well, he is Leia's father. So naturally I'm going to ask him about dating her."

"I told him we liked her," Maris said to the redhead.

"She's not too bad, for a princess," Mara agreed. She glared at Vader. "But you're in-laws would leave a lot to be desired."

"True. All the more reason not to kill him, I suppose. Come on, Mr. Leia's dad Robot Dark Codpiece Lord Sith thing dude, lot's go have a family reunion. Oh, and by the way, I'm gonna marry your daughter."


	16. Saving Dark Codpiece

Chapter 15 review responses are available in my forums. Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: Saving Dark Codpiece**

Someone screamed.

Harry stared at the perpetrator. It wasn't a woman, which, though he admitted was deeply sexist of him, made the scream that much more irritating. "Did that tech just scream?"

"Darth Vader's an intimidating sight," Maris reasoned with a shrug.

"That grown man just screamed like a five year old girl!"

The grown man in question was now a bright shade of puce while his fellow techs not so gently made fun of him, in between worried stares at the floating form of Darth Vader. Harry shrugged. "Any of you guys know if there is a prison or brig we can put Dark Codpiece here?"

Eventually Harry was shown the impromptu brig the Alliance had set up for the occasionally rowdy volunteer. After a quick examination, Harry transfigured and conjured, then warded some more until the cell was secure. He removed Vader's weapons, levitated him in, and then dropped him at the same time he ended his petrifaction spell.

The Dark Lord was on his feet almost instantly. "You'll die for this!" he roared.

Of course that's when the audience appeared. First came Leia, then Obi-Wan, and finally Yoda. "Hey, Leia," Harry greeted the princess. "I'm afraid he wasn't too keen on the idea of us dating."

Leia rolled her eyes and turned to stare at the monstrosity that was once her father. Yoda and Obi-Wan also stared. Harry moved to stand beside Obi-Wan and stared for a long time. "You know," he said finally, "the codpiece is actually starting to grow on me. It does sort of work with that ensemble."

"Harry, this man is my birth father," Leia said, pleading for him to be more respectful.

"More machine now than man," Obi-Wan said.

"No thanks to you, _Master_," Vader snarled.

"You were my brother," Obi-Wan said sadly. He sounded on the verge of tears.

Vader reached out a hand, but his Force energy rebounded with no effect. "Yeah, that's not going to work," Harry said. "Warded all the walls. You're not going anywhere. So, let's talk. How 'you been? Been to any good restaurants? Oh, what, you don't eat because you have to wear a goofy mask? Oh, so sorry."

"Harry, please!" Leia said, exasperated.

"Sorry, I hate self-pity," Harry said with a shrug. "I can see into his mind—it's an open book, and not a good one at that. He's standing there dripping in self pity because he was stupid enough to believe a twisted old fart's lies. You do know Vadey that the dream of your wife dying was a self-fulfilling prophecy that Palpatine actually foisted on you, right? He played you into killing your own wife while pretending he was helping you. Then he somehow talked you into killing all the Jedi because they might stop you from saving your wife, who you then turned around and killed. You were really, really stupid."

Leia was on the verge of tears, but Harry didn't listen. He surprised everyone by disappearing and reappearing a second after next to the startled dark lord. "Do you get it, yet? Do you understand that of all the Jedi your master destroyed, you were his greatest victory? He didn't kill you, he did far worse. He enslaved you. And he didn't even need a slave implant to do it. You've come full circle—from a Tatooine slave boy to Jedi knight back to slave. And all it took was the life you could have lived if you had had the courage to be free."

"Be silent," Vader rumbled.

Leia started to shout, but stopped when Obi-Wan placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Make me," Harry snarled.

Vader roared and swung his fist with Jedi-fast reflexes. Harry caught the swing and sent the dark lord flying across the room. "I've fought gods, you little shit. I've destroyed armies with a word and pulled whole worlds through the intergalactic void. The power you wield came from midi-chlorians based on my DNA. Do you think anyone other than you is actually stupid enough to believe an empire that can send a ship across the galaxy doesn't have the technology to repair burnt lungs? Do you think anyone that stupid could take me in a fight?"

Vader stood and lashed out in a powerful kick. Harry ducked and swung his right leg, sweeping Vader's support and landing him on the floor again.

"Face it!" Harry continued without mercy. "You should have been walking around breathing just fine on good prosthetics decades ago with a wife who loved you and two kids who idolized you. Power is an illusion, only love is real. But like the idiot you are you continue to let that old bastard hold you down. You've replaced the slave implant with that damned suit, because you're too much of a coward to face the world with your own eyes."

"Shut up!" Vader screamed. It was not a roar; it was a cry of anguish that pushed the vocalizer to its upper limits. "Damn you, I had to save Padme!"

"Yeah, and how did that work out for you?" Harry said coldly. "Her last words were that there was good in you. But you and I both know that's a lie. If you were a good man, you'd free yourself from your slavery and be a father to the son and daughter who carry on Padme's legacy. But you're not a good man. You're a willing slave to a monster. And you're going to die a slave, because that's easier than being the father you never had."

Harry popped back out of the cell and looked at the stunned faces. "Leave," he said with voice dripping with power. It was so powerful, people left without even meaning too.

He turned and saw the Dark Lord sitting on the floor with his masked head down, breathing raggedly.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Leia found Harry in the cantina an hour later nursing a drink. She raced up to him without hesitation and slapped him.

He responded by kissing her.

She slapped him again. Harder.

He kissed her longer the second time.

The rest of the cantina watched in amazed silence as the kiss went on long enough to leave the Princess trembling. When they parted, Harry said brusquely, "Have a seat."

She did so, unable to stop herself. He pushed the drink toward her. "Alcohol does nothing for me. But it'll help you. Drink."

"How could you say those things?" she asked in tears.

"Pretty easily, to be honest," Harry said. "I did a full mental scan. Saw his whole life picture. His greatest crime was stupidity. He believed and trusted the wrong man, and for that his life has been shattered, and so has yours and Luke's."

He motioned and Leia took a sip. Corellian whiskey. She made a face at the burn. "But why? Why be so cruel?"

"He hates himself even more than he hates his master," Harry explained. "His entire life has been consumed by hate. It's all he understands. He would not respond to compassion or love or sympathy. But hate—that he knows. Hate gives him power. I've had thousands of years of hate to work off of. My hate made him think."

"But why?"

Harry shrugged. "To save him, of course. Your mom was right, there is good in him. He did some horrible things, but mostly out of stupidity and then later despair. Maybe he should be tried and condemned, maybe not. But he's powerful. And more importantly, he's your father. So, we try to save him."

"Would you have if he wasn't my father?"

"Honestly?" Harry shrugged. "No. I did not enjoy doing that, Leia. I despise hurting people, even when they deserve it. Frankly it would be kinder to kill the man, and that's what I would ordinarily do. But he is your father, and for your sake I will try to save him."

"Because you want to marry me?"

"Well, I won't deny it's quite the coincidence," Harry said with a thin smile. The smile faded. "But it's going to be hard to break a lifetime of guilt and pain. If he is to survive, he will need you and Luke not just to be his children, but to teach him how to be a father. I've known too many people willing to die rather than swallow their pride."

Her expression grew pensive. "And why did you kiss me?"

He leaned forward and winked. "After that slap, I figured I earned it."

"I…I…" Leia sputtered for a moment before she stood and marched out of the cantina. A moment later, she was replaced by Obi-Wan.

"I don't kiss anyone with a beard," Harry warned up front.

The old Jedi chuckled. "Indeed. All the more reason not to shave."

Harry laughed as well. "Well, plucking at Dark Codpiece's mind I saw quite a bit of you as well."

"Yes. I was his master for many years, and his friend for many years after that. I blame myself for his fall as much as Palpatine."

"I used to do that too—you know, blame myself for things that I ultimately had no control over. I will say your Jedi had a pretty stupid set-up there. Attachment is not evil. Attachment is the emotional underpinning of any society. By divorcing yourselves from all attachment, the Jedi essentially divorced themselves from the society they were supposed to be protecting. How can you truly protect a society you are not a part of?"

"I suspect you are right, my friend," Obi-Wan said. "We were arrogant, all of us. We did not see the evil creeping up around us, until it held the knife to our throat. The worst part for me was seeing the Republic Senate actually applauding the end of the Republic and the death of the Jedi Order. It was like a blow to my soul."

"The end of democracy usually is," Harry said. "Thing about democracy though, it only lasts as long as the people care about it. I can't tell you have many times I have seen populous governments collapse into tyranny, or more often, into an oligarchy based on economic supremacy. Your republic lasted as long as it did through inertia and bureaucratic mass, propped up by an elitist order of super-powered fighters. It was an artificial construct that was bound to end at the first legitimate threat."

Obi-Wan eyed him warily. "That is a very cynical view."

"When you've seen as many governments fall as I have, my friend, you would have that view as well. Although I view it more as detached objectivism. I was not a part of the events that led to the Republic's fall, and so I have no emotional attachment to it."

Obi-Wan nodded and sipped a cup of blue milk. "Tell me, Harry. Is Leia to be your next 'wife'?"

"The others certainly like her, and I'll admit she's a fairly good kisser. Pretty strong arm too." He rubbed at his sore jaw.

"And then?"

"Then, with four anchors I'll have sufficient power to start making a difference for this Alliance. For her adopted father's memory. Maybe we should rename the Alliance the Bail Organa Memorial Rebel Alliance or something. We could shorten it to BOMRA. Has a ring, don't you think?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "You are a strange man, Harry Potter."

"Not so strange. Detached, much like your Jedi Order."

"Even with your wives?"

"With them? Without them, I'd let you all burn." For a brief moment the Jedi saw something terribly cold and ancient in the young man's eyes. "I'm so tired of fighting other people's fights. I've been doing it for so long. But it is what it is. And whatever else can be said about war, it brings out not just the worst, but also the best in people. Mara, Maris and Winter are all extraordinary women, even among those I've called my wives. And Leia would be a worthy addition to that group if she should choose to join us."

"Harry, there is something else I wanted to ask you about. Although we have not spoken much, I've heard you refer to a war that ended your race. I asked Yoda and he had only vague references to the 'Continuum War'. What war were you referring to?"

The ancient darkness returned to the boy's face. "We were on the verge of true divinity. My kind had evolved beyond simple biological reproduction. During my last life, I was a primitive compared to them, save for my power. My wives were already almost a thousand years old themselves when they summoned me. But even so, they needed me. We thought ourselves better than other species and tried to guide the 'younger' species along our moral and ethical views. In so doing, we angered a race of true gods. No proper names for any individuals—they were billions of years old, going back to the birth of this universe. They existed beyond the fourth dimension we call time, on a continuum of existence unto itself. But occasionally they liked to dabble in the affairs of the mortal species, and were offended that we had forcibly eliminated war, poverty and disease in our home galaxy. They sought to destroy us, thinking with their great power it would be a simple thing."

"Was it?"

"They destroyed the world of our first birth, a planet in my youth known as Earth. They caused it and its entire system to simply cease to exist. Four hundred million mages and ten billion baseline humans died without warning. The others quickly realized what was happening and began fortifying our systems. And my wives summoned me. Although they had not needed me in ten thousand years of evolutionary development, they found they did not have the drive or viciousness to fight the gods. I did. The first god we killed caused a supernova that wiped out four whole sentient species."

"Harry?" Obi-Wan asked softly, stunned.

"You are obviously a veteran of war," Harry said. "I can see in your eyes that you've seen war, and the ravages of it. There is something beautiful in the death of a star, until you begin to feel the billions of deaths that accompany that star into the darkness. We fought them with everything we had. We built techno-magical command centers to harness and focus our power, and we struck at the Continuum itself. When a god dies, there is an actual moment of cessation. The entire galaxy stops for about three seconds. Every sentient being alive feels it, and understands on some level that a truly awesome and terrible thing happened. Each death enraged them and they responded with greater savagery, made furious that our own power partially shielded us from their omnipotence. We followed them back into history and forward to the future, fighting the entire time. In the end, we destroyed all but one. That one changed the gravitational constant of the universe itself, and in essence threw a galaxy at us."

Obi-Wan blinked. "They what?"

"They caused the tidal forces between our galaxy and a neighboring galaxy to increase exponentially while at the same time eliminating the mass effects of light speed. It pulled a smaller gobular galaxy into ours at such a rate of speed that it distorted and ripped both galaxies apart in a matter of weeks instead of eons like would ordinarily be the case. And so those of us left took the last command center, grabbed what worlds we could, and left the galaxy entirely. Just our luck that when we arrived here, we saw almost immediately that the radiation caused by our power was lethal to most life forms. We knew that it had a long-term deleterious effect on most species, but here the effect was more pronounced by the sudden wash of anaphasic energy that accompanied our arrival. And so we used my more primitive genetic structure to develop midi-chlorians, used the command center to saturate all life with them, saved the last of our servants, and let the magical exhaustion claim us."

Those brilliant, startling green eyes focused intently on Obi-Wan. "You feel you failed to save your former apprentice. Perhaps you did, perhaps not. But I failed to save my entire galaxy. A billion, trillion sentient beings died terrible deaths because of a war my people fought. Before you start wallowing too deeply in your pity, remember that."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin walked very quickly through the halls of the Death Star. To the uninformed observer, it might even be described as running. However, the informed members of the Imperial Armed Forces knew that Grand Moff Tarkin never did anything as mundane as running. Therefore, for those who knew better, he was not running wide-eyed with panic through the Death Star.

He was walking very quickly with extra alertness.

Admiral Conan Motti stood near the door of the communications suite, not quite hiding a smirk at his superior's obvious haste. "He is waiting, Grand Moff."

"Very well, man. Step aside," Tarkin said brusquely before entering the suite and sealing the door.

Dominating the center of the darkened space was a towering hologram of the Emperor.

Tarkin immediately knelt down, trying to control his heavy breathing. "I beg your forgiveness, Majesty. I came as quickly as I could."

"So I see," came the brittle voice of the most powerful man in the Empire. "I bring grave news, my friend. Grave news indeed."

"M'lord?"

"Lord Vader has somehow been captured by the rebels."

Tarkin reared back as if struck. "How could this possibly be?"

"He presumably used the release of Leia Organa of Alderaan to attempt to track her to the rebel base. I lost all contact with him after he landed on a moon in the Yavin System. You are to go there immediately and destroy the rebels."

"And Lord Vader?"

"If Lord Vader is unable to free himself, then he is not worthy to be my apprentice. Destroy the rebel scum once and for all, Tarkin."

"I will make sure of it," Tarkin vowed with his head low.

"See to it that you do." With that, the hologram buzzed out of sight leaving a frazzled Tarkin in silence. The grand moff stood, straightened his uniform and then took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

The situation was obviously very dangerous. He essentially just received orders to destroy a moon that held Darth Vader. If Vader escaped but knew what Tarkin's orders were, the Grand Moff might very well face Vader's wrath. But if he succeeded in killing Vader, then the Empire would know, and he had no doubt the Emperor would seek vengeance for him just on principle. Even he, who was never a believer in the Force, knew that the Sith answered any slight with terrible violence.

On the other hand, that would leave the position of Emperor's right hand man wide open. Tarkin had a twenty year history with the Emperor; a history of success given the completion of the most powerful battlestation the galaxy had ever seen.

He smiled as his fine analytical mind quickly went through the many possible scenarios that would see him elevated even higher in power than he currently was. Perhaps minister of state was next?

He unsealed the communication suite and found Admiral Motti still waiting, not quite smirking. Tarkin resisted the urge to wipe the smirk off the man's face. Motti was not quite an enemy; not quite a friend.

"Admiral, we are to set course for the Yavin System immediately. The Emperor has personally obtained information on a possible Rebel presence there. It is his wish that the Rebellion end now."

Motti snapped a short, military bow. "I'll see to it immediately, Grand Moff. It is a glorious day."

"Indeed it is." Tarkin watched the shorter man walk away. "Indeed it is."


	17. The Death Star

Chapter 16 review responses are available in my forums. Thank you.

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**Chapter Seventeen: The Death Star**

General Jan Dodonna stood with arms crossed in thought. Beside him stood a friend he thought long lost, Obi-Wan Kenobi, while on the other side of him sat a being of legend, Jedi Master Yoda himself.

What vexed him most, though, was the seemingly young man lounging casually in a reclining plush couch that he created out of thin air, surrounded by three startlingly attractive woman. Even more disturbing were the looks that his recently deceased best friend's daughter was giving to the quartet—as if she was fighting an urge to make it a quintet.

Dodonna just didn't even know how to begin the conversation he knew they needed to have. "Have you made any progress on Lord Vader?" he said finally, broaching a safe subject.

As if somehow Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, could be considered a safe subject.

Mr. Potter shrugged. "As well as can be. It's a hard thing to admit that everything bad that's ever happened to you, including the death of your wife and the loss of your children, is due to your own stupidity."

Dodonna fought down an urge to call Potter 'young man', catching himself earlier after Yoda reminded him that behind the young face was a being of untold eons. "I knew Anakin Skywalker in the Clone Wars. He was far from stupid."

"Different definition, perhaps," Harry said indifferently. "That said, we could cure him pretty easily. I talked with your medical droid and his lungs could be healed through existing therapies, which means Palpy kept him in that suit for a reason. Vader knows that. He knows he's lived twenty years of agony because of his master's lies."

"And what do you intend to do next?"

"Haven't decided yet," Harry said. "And neither has he. He'll need to make some choices himself before I do anything."

"I can accept that for now, I suppose," Dodonna said. "And what is your intention regarding Princess Leia? I heard reports of your encounter in the cantina."

Harry grinned while Leia blushed furiously.

"She's a beautiful, smart, cunning, powerful young lady. Forgive me for any attraction I might feel."

Dodonna once again shook his head and settled back in his seat. This was not going right at all. "What are your intentions regarding the Empire?"

"I was thinking about turning old Palpy into a Kowakian Monkey Lizard. I mean, I'll need to know what a Kowakian Monkey Lizard is first, but with a name like that, it just has to be all sorts of awesome."

The problem, Dodonna realized, was that he could not tell whether Potter was serious or not. The man wore a big, mischievous smile on his face when he made this outlandish statement, and yet somehow still managed to sound serious.

Beside him, Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "Harry, there is something more immediate that we may need your assistance with. The Empire has created a battle station with enough firepower to destroy a whole world. We managed to capture these images from a planet known as Despayre."

A hologram between Harry and the general that showed a planet completely destroyed by two shots of a moon-sized battle station. "That was on only a fraction of its power," Dodonna said. "No planetary shield can withstand firepower of that magnitude. Alderaan is tragic proof, as it had the strongest suite of planetary shields ever made."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "So, we have two ways we can go. I can help you build a smaller but more powerful weapon to destroy the battle station and any other Imperial worlds you want to blow up, or I can help you just destroy that one without escalating the galaxy into a planetary frag fest."

"You could build a weapon like that?" Obi Wan said with open horror.

"Bad guys have been destroying planets for a long time, my friends. Well before your Empire. One learns about an enemy to defeat him. I could design a planet buster about a hundredth the size of that station. Hell, even just a simple anti-matter bomb would probably do the truck. The question you have to ask yourselves though, is if that's what you really want. Once I introduce that level of technology, it will only be a matter of time before the other side duplicates it, and you then have an arms race that could obliterate the whole galaxy."

"The use of such a weapon is against every principle this organization was founded on," Dodonna said resolutely.

"Good," Harry said with a satisfied nod. "Blowing up planets is a messy way to do business. Do you have the plans for the station?"

"Princess Leia had them in her droid," Dodonna said. "We've begun analyzing the data and believe we may have found a weakness. The heat energy from the hypermatte reactor uses a thermal exhaust port. It is possible that if we hit that port with a proton torpedo, it could set up a chain reaction that would destroy the station. The problem is getting the torpedo there. The approach would be very difficult."

Harry leaned forward, looking closely at the schematics. "Can you get me a shot of the interior reactor? You folks use hypermatter, right? I'm assuming you pull charged tachyons out of a hyperspacial vacuum and then annihilate them for power production?"

"That's right," Winter said, having a better understanding of the physics of hyperspace travel than most.

"Hmm." Harry stared at the schematics. "Hundred and sixty klicks in diameter. How big is the reactor itself?"

"According to these schematics, the reactor chamber makes up nearly 36% of the total diameter of the station," Dodonna said. "The actual power core is roughly ten percent."

Harry did the numbers in his head. "So the chamber is roughly 43 klicks in diameter and annihilates tachyons, which by their nature cannot actually go below _c_. If the reactor core is able to generate that much power, then chances are they have it shielded pretty well from external forces. What about the fuel sources? Hypermatter reactors are pretty clumsy and tend to suck up tachyons pretty quickly."

"The interior of the reactor core is lined with stellar draws that create and then distribute the tachyonic material," Dodonna said. He's spent much of the night examining the plans.

Harry leaned forward and tapped his lip in thought. "Tachyons are messy," he said. "Even when you reduce their energy, they still remain superluminal. But if the reactor was suddenly infused with a flush of tardyons, that might cause an instability in the reactor. The fusion accelerators would hit the suddenly massive particles. I can't imagine the designers would account for anything like that happening since it would be theoretically impossible."

"If it is theoretically impossible, why discuss it?" Dodonna asked.

"I don't believe in theories," Harry said with a shrug. "Get me in there and I'll transfigure the particles. Subatomic particles are hard to work with, but I've done it before."

"But how will you escape?"

"Oh, it won't be instantaneous," Harry said. "The process will take twenty minutes or so for the massive particles to get fed into the reactor. That will give me time to get out of there. About the only problem I foresee is the power requirement."

"Power requirement?" Obi-Wan asked.

"He means us," Winter interpreted. "We'd have to be with him."

Dodonna sputtered. "Why?"

"We are a unit," Harry said. "I draw power from them, and they draw power from me. It will take a massive amount of magic just to condense the tachyons, much less change them. It will require a field the tachyons have to pass through, where I will have to transfigure the very strings of matter within them to cause them to assume mass. That's just on the edge of my abilities even with my wives. But if we do it that way, you don't have to throw any fighters at it."

"Do you have any alternative plans?" Obi-Wan asked. "Such as you used on Malestare?"

"Portkeys won't work around that much exotic energy," Harry said. "And apparition would be a mistake as well. Even I would splinch myself in half jumping around a reactor core like that. I suppose if worse comes to worse I could transfigure the lining of the chamber to weaken it, but that would only delay the station, not destroy it."

"The thermal exhaust port does not require anyone to enter the station," Dodonna pointed out.

"Only that someone be able to hit a two meter target at the end of a heavily fortified trench," Harry said. "But then again, I don't believe in placing all the eggs in one basket. So go ahead and plan your attack, and I'll plan on mine. Whoever blows it up first will get free drinks from everyone else."

"How will we get on board?" Mara asked. There was no doubt in her voice that she would be going.

"Vader's starfighter," Harry said.

"It can't hold four people," Winter pointed out.

"No, but it can hold one person and several transfigured wives."

Winter's eyes narrowed. "Transfigured?"

Harry looked over the table at Obi-Wan. "Sorry," he said.

A moment later Obi-Wan Kenobi was gone, replaced by an intricately detailed play figurine. A moment after that, the Jedi master returned to his form and gasped. "Well, that was unpleasant. What happened?"

"I turned you into one of your friendly captain's play figures," Harry said. He looked to his wives. "There is no pain, but it is disconcerting, I won't lie. But it will allow me to get you all on board. Once on board, you return to your normal form, I disillusion everyone, and we get to work."

"You make it sound so easy," Leia muttered. "Just waltz into the Death Star and destroy it.'

"We'll be invisible," he said. "At least to unaided eyes. I'll make a distraction or two to get people's attention, and then we make our way to where we are supposed to go. I don't know if it'll be easy or not, but it's doable. Especially if you join us."

"Harry, please stop trying to seduce my friend," Winter asked. "You promised."

Harry shrugged and grinned. "You're right, I did. Sorry."

"Besides," Leia added, "if you're going to be flying Vader's starfighter, wouldn't they expect you to be Vader?"

Harry's eyes widened. "Nice," he said. He blinked twice, and when he opened his eyes the second time Darth Vader sat lounging amidst three beautiful women. "What do you know?" he said in the Sith Lord's mechanical basso, "the codpiece is actually kind of comfortable."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"Sir, Lord Vader's starfighter is on approach," General Tagge reported.

Tarkin looked away from his examination of the Yavin System they were fast approaching. "Very well, drop out of hyperspace and prepare to receive Lord Vader. I shall meet him personally. Once he is aboard, continue to Yavin at flank speed."

"Yes, sir."

Tarkin made his way casually down to the VIP landing bay on the northern hemisphere closest to the executive command deck of the station. He arrived just in time to see the TIE-advanced starfighter enter the bay and expend its landing struts.

The cockpit opened with a hiss and the Dark Lord climbed out of his fighter with the slow, methodical motions Tarkin had come to expect. What he did not expect was for the Dark Lord to pose dramatically on his fighter, fists at his hips, with his cape flapping behind him in a phantom wind that did not affect anyone else. It was the most ridiculous thing Tarkin had ever seen, and only the threat of being Force-choked kept him and the rest of the crew from laughing out loud.

With his and every other eye in the bay firmly on the posing figure, no one noticed four short troopers pop into the air behind the rest of the troopers.

"Lord Vader," Tarkin asked carefully, "may I ask what you are doing?"

"Looking heroic," Vader said. He then hopped off the star fighter without waiting for the ladder, dropping the two meters with barely a bend of his knees. He walked menacingly through the line of troopers until he reached Tarkin. "I have something to say to you," he said.

Tarkin fought an urge to step back. "Yes?"

The Dark Lord surged forward and wrapped his arms around Tarkin. To the uninformed observer, it would look very much like a hug. "I love you, Man!" Vader roared.

A snicker rose from the back of the formation of otherwise stoic clone storm troopers.

"Lord Vader, what is the meaning of this?" Tarkin all but screamed.

"It's just, I've been so lonely!" Vader sobbed. "You don't know what it's like! I can't get the codpiece off!"

"Lord Vader!" Tarkin take a step back. "You have obviously become compromised."

"No, it's just something stuck in my eye. Here, you want to see something scary?"

To Tarkin's horror, Vader lifted off his head. Tarkin knew enough of the man to expect horrible disfigurement. He was not expecting to see…the perfectly bald, shiny head of a one year old infant. "Booo!" the infant said with a baby giggle. "Boobooboo."

"What is the meaning of this?" a stunned Tarkin demanded.

The baby said, "This doesn't work for you? How 'bout something really scary?"

Suddenly the tiny head exploded into a massive, scaled monstrosity as large as a starfighter, with glowing red eyes and a row of foot-long dagger-like teeth. The roar bounded against the walls of the docking bay and caused troopers to stumble away in shock.

When the roar ended, Vader was gone.

"That was not Darth Vader!" Tarkin said, at last arriving to the conclusion that was obvious to every trooper there within a second of Vader striking his 'heroic' pose. "Put up a station-wide alert to apprehend Vader at all costs."

The troopers scrambled away to do their duty. Lost in the crowd of parting troopers were a set of four that seemed shorter than average along with a fifth who was exactly average size. "'I love you, man'?" one asked in a clearly feminine voice.

The average-sized trooper shrugged. "Did you not see him? The man obviously needed a hug."

Another trooper shook his head. "I just don't get you," she said.

The other four, almost in unison said, "Not yet."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Luke listened to the plan in silence, noticing the consternation of the pilots around him. Even Biggs looked frustrated. "How are we supposed to hit that?" another pilot said.

Biggs nodded. "That's impossible."

"No its not," Luke said. "We used to bullseye womprats back home in our T-16s, there not much larger than two meters."

"Luke, it's a lot different when the womprat is shooting back," Biggs assured him.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

A wickedly curved claw tapped at the shiny surface of the floor. Keen reptilian eyes stared at at the trooper. The trooper flicked a hand and said, "Go fetch!"

The Utah raptor, one of a pack of seven that only seconds before used to be mouse droids, hissed and turned to go wreak havoc. Wherever the quintet of troopers went, insane and impossible things happened. The whole station was on high alert. One level was fighting a Hungarian horntail dragon, another a bull rancor.

One level was actually under water, while another was covered in a three foot blizzard. On the command deck, Admiral Motti was being sexually assaulted by a Vietnamese water buffalo. And now a level had to contend with a pack of dinosaurs.

"Still need to see what a Kowakian monkey lizard looks like," Harry said to himself.

"Is this how you fought your wars in the past?" Leia demanded.

"Sometimes. Depended on if the enemy was capable of humor or not. Those who would get it, it's frankly not as fun. But for those who are so serious they can't understand, stuff like this is absolutely terrifying. Tarkin is probably having to change his adult diaper because of this."

"You haven't killed anyone," Mara noted.

"Nope."

"And it's going to take twenty minutes to an hour for the Death Star to explode? Won't that give them time to evacuate?"

"Yep."

Leia's eyes narrowed. "You're trying to save lives?"

"Not so much saving as just not killing. There is a difference, you know."

They arrived finally onto a secured engineering deck and were met almost immediately by a very large lieutenant in red engineering fatigues. "What are you doing here?"

"Ahhhh!" Harry screamed with a shockingly loud voice. "A Kowakian monkey lizard!"

"What?" the large man blinked. Then he barked, because in the time it took him to blink Harry turned him into a beagle. The rest of the engineering staff, a group of forty men and women, stared at their former commander in open horror.

"Hi!" Harry said. "My name is Harry and I'll be your captor for this afternoon. Would anyone who does not want to be turned into an animal please kneel down on the floor with your hands on your head. Those who wish to become an animal, stay in your seats. I'm sorry, we don't do specific animal requests. You'll be happy with the animal I choose for you or else."

Lieutenant Beagle barked. Forty men and women fell to the floor on their knees with their hands over their heads. "Sleep," Harry said aloud.

Forty men and women slumped over in sleep.

The others removed their helmets. "This is just amazing," Leia said. "Will…will your wives be able to do that?"

"Maybe not to this extent, and not at first. I'm ridiculously powerful and old enough to have learned lots of tricks. But given time, you'll each be a threat. Mara and Maris here could have killed them all pretty easy, but they're just folks doing a job."

He flicked a hand and the ladies found themselves free of the armor. They followed Harry as he in turn followed the feeling of power in the air, until they arrived in a power room looking over the impossible sight of the Death Star's hypermatter reactor.

The space was over forty kilometers in diameter with two massive towers reaching toward each other from each pole of the spherical chamber. The tachyon condensation field shimmered with blue plasma between the two towers, generating more power than a dozen stars. It if were not the single most inefficient way to generate that much power, Harry would have been impressed.

"Okay, we're right next to a tachyon producing cylinder," he said. He placed a hand against the far wall of the room and the four women watched as the wall seemed to melt and change until it formed a circular passage to a rounded silver wall that hummed loudly and had a slight luminescence to it.

"Harry, that cylinder is dangerously radioactive," Winter pointed out.

"Our magic will protect you," Harry said over his shoulder.

"What about me?" Leia asked with wide eyes.

Harry turned to her and smiled, though it seemed wistful. "You're magic will protect you as well, Leia."

"But I'm not…"

"You are," he said. "In your mind you've been a part of this family since the cantina. You told yourself you want to come to make sure I did it right, but the truth is you came because you knew we needed you. Not just me—all of us. And so you've become a part of us. I just haven't cemented your bond yet."

Leia sputtered indignantly until Harry stepped to her and kissed her again like he did in the cantina. Her right leg lifted and Winter rolled her eyes. "I knew he'd have her within a day," she muttered.

"Aren't you glad?" Mara asked. "She is adorable."

"Well, yes, I'm glad she's one of us. But what about Bail?"

Meanwhile, Harry let their lips part and Leia was staring up at him with liquid brown eyes and a quivering lip. "You understand now, don't you?" he asked.

She nodded, unable to speak.

"Then be with us. I'm going to need your strength—all of you—to do this."

"How?" Leia asked.

"Just touch me," he said.

With that, he crawled back into the impromptu opening with his back to them. The four women made their way through the carpet of sleeping bodies and the barking beagle and placed a hand on his back.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"My god that thing's huge."

"Cut the chatter Red Three. Lock _s-_foils into attack position."

Luke took a deep breath and began to employ the only Jedi skill he had developed any skill at-meditation. He let himself go into the Force and, for the first time in his life, felt truly free.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Leia fought to control the trembling as the memory of his kiss seared her. She had never felt anything even remotely like it, not with any of the noble boys she had kissed on Alderaan. The heat was more than just sexual—it felt almost spiritual.

"Is it always like that?" she asked her childhood friend and all but sister.

Winter smiled. "Yeah, it is. I'm lucky I lasted as long as I did."

"Lasted longer than me or Maris," Mara pointed out.

They looked to Harry's back, and together the four of them placed one hand on his back before holding each other. It felt as if they were completing a circuit. They joined not just with Harry's immense power, but with his mind.

It was a new and somewhat humbling experience. Though his body and face were young, the mind behind the face was ancient, formidable and so powerful as to be frightening. They felt a keen, penetrating intellect at the front of a vast well of knowledge gleaned throughout the centuries.

The power surrounded them and then began to drain them. Through their link with Harry's mind they sensed as he started to condense the primordial matter within the cylinder, creating a field of dark matter in the center of a device designed to pull superluminal particles from another dimension of space-time. The superluminal particles, which had zero actual massive, struck the dark matter, and took on mass just as a charged magnet picks up iron shavings. The charge of the tachyons attracted the particles of the primordial ooze Harry conjured. Particles that by nature could not travel below the speed of light suddenly gained true mass that would not allow them to exceed the speed of light. The cylinder began to glow red as it fed the now massive particles down the conduit into the hypermatter reactor.

The cylinder shifted from red to white and began to groan. "Hang on," Harry said, screaming now over the sound an imminent explosion. Leia caught a glimpse of sleeping bodies disappearing in a shimmer, even the small dog.

Suddenly the cylinder exploded with the force of a nuclear warhead.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Tarkin almost fell as the whole station rocked. The lights overhead began to flash red and an alarm began wailing. "What is it now?" the beleaguered Grand Moff demanded.

Admiral Motti merely screamed as Navy personnel tried to beat back the randy water buffalo.

"Sir," Tagge said, running from his station, "there has been an explosion in the reactor core! One of the hypermatter cylinders exploded. The explosion has created a chain reaction within the reactor itself. We can't stop it!"

"What are you saying, man?" Tarkin demanded.

"Sir, the station is going to explode!" Tagge almost yelled. "We can't stop it. We can't fire our weapon. The reactor has already gone critical. We have less then twenty minutes to evacuate!"

"No!" Tarkin said, staggering as if struck. "It can't be! This station is invulnerable! I had every system tested a thousand times or more! This can't be!"

Seeing that his commander was at the moment unable to handle the news, Tagge ran back to his station and sounded the general evacuation. Whether the station still had its primary weapon or not, the Death Star hosted a compliment of seven thousand fighters, four strike cruisers, over three thousand assault shuttles, fourteen hundred AT-ATs and AT-STs and over eighteen hundred dropships. They would still easily overwhelm and destroy the alliance. Tarkin would take the blame for the loss of the Death Star, but Cassio Tagge of the House of Tagge would receive credit for overcoming the loss and defeating the enemies anyway.

The battle was far from over.


	18. The Quick and the Dead

Chapter Nineteen review responses are available in my forums. Thank you all for reading.

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen: The Quick and the Dead**

Leia woke to the sound of water lapping on a shore. It was such an unexpected sound that at first she forgot where she was or what was happening. Then she remembered the flash of white light as the tachyon generator exploded.

"I'm dead," she whispered.

"Not quite, but close," came a strangely familiar voice.

Leia opened her eyes and found herself staring at a stunning woman with long, raven-black hair and eyes the color of a deep blue ocean. She had high cheekbones, full, sensuous lips and held her head at such an angle to accentuate the long, sexy neck.

Once she was able to pull her eyes away from the beautiful woman, she noticed an ocean lapping along a pure white beach. The sky overhead was a perfect, breath-taking shade of blue, made even more real by the occasional puffy clouds.

"Where are we?"

"A transition point," the woman said.

"A transition?"

"To death. Harry saved all of you by bringing you here."

"By killing us?"

"No, silly," the woman said with a fond smile. "Harry is a master of death. He can slip in and out of this realm at any time. He's the reason none of us ever truly dies. We just wait here for him each time he's pulled from us."

"I…who are you?"

"I am your predecessor. My name is Daphne Greengrass, and two million years ago I was the first Lady Slytherin."

"Slytherin?"

Daphne smiled and draped an arm around Leia's shoulders. Leia noticed the woman was taller than she was, and incredibly well proportioned. "Once, long ago, on a small world on the edge of a distant galaxy, four powerful mages created a school for magic. In doing so, they created the foundation of the first Magus society for the next thousand years. Their legacy was so important that their family's lines were imbued with their own magic. It was a dark time, though. Primitive by your standards, hundreds of years before the first human reached the stars. The lines failed, one by one, until a thousand years later one boy was born, the last descendent of each of the four lines plus another for his own family name. He inherited not just their mantle, but the magic imbued with those family lines, and found himself bound to four separate women, each of which possessed the best quality of each of the founders. We Slytherins possessed ambition and cunning. You, my sister, are a perfect Slytherin. And when your time comes, this is where you will come."

Leia heard whispers and turned to see a veritable wall of beautiful, smiling women, almost all of whom had dark or brown hair. The only exception was also the tallest. This last being stood almost a foot taller than the rest and had no hair at all. She was willowy but graceful. Though her face was not expressive, she shone with a strange aura that felt welcoming.

"As I am the first wife," Daphne said, "Ziiian was the last before you. The women you see are a history not just of Harry, but of our entire race. His wives spanned every period of history for the last million years of our galaxy, until the war that ended our kind."

The beautiful but alien Ziaan flowed forward, and Leia realized she did not walk, but floated. She spoke not with words, but in a coherent stream of conscious thought. _In our last days, we thought ourselves gods, until we were forced to fight a war against true gods. If not for Harry, we would have been lost. Though we had power nearing his at the end, he has become more than any one mage. He has become a god in his own right._

"But his power comes at a price," Daphne warned. "He is so tired. He was reckless on the battle station, dear sister. He chose to save those who served the darkness rather than himself, and this recklessness extended to you, his wives. He has never so openly risked his wives like that before, not in all the years of his many lives."

Leia looked around at the many faces. "Why are you telling me this?"

Another woman stepped forward, as beautiful in own way as the first, with long dark hair. "I was his second Slytherin," Susan Chamberlain said. "His second death saw what he thought was the end of all magical kind. He fell into such a pit of despair he killed himself."

"For that is how his second life ended," Daphne added.

_And in his last, he willingly spelled all our own deaths to ensure that the elves and Whills would live_, Ziiian said.

"He is capable of such overwhelming love," Daphne said. "But he is also capable of taking a million years of hate and focusing it on himself until it burns him from the inside out. He will never raise a hand to you, but he could destroy you all by accident in the process of killing himself."

"What can I do, then?" Leia asked.

"He needs one more wife," Daphne said. "A fifth wife as strong in spirit as he. One who knows pain as much as him, who would guide him and teach him to live again—a woman as brave and self-sacrificing as he is, and one also lost to time. Until he finds this wife, our Harry is a danger to all those around him. Even those he loves, and who love him. You should not have had to come here so soon, my sister. But because you are here, we can tell you this much. Just remember the night always seems darkest right before morn."

Leia blinked in surprise. "I don't…"

Daphne smiled at her, as did Susan, Ziiian and the thousands of other women. The world seemed to shimmer and turn white. Only it was a white that made her eyes hurt. She slowly, painfully sat up.

That's when the pain hit—searing agony on her hands and face. She looked down in horror and saw blackened fingers. A sob escaped despite her best efforts. She heard another sob and turned to see Maris cradling her hands under her arms. Winter was not sobbing aloud, but her face was streaked with tears, as was Mara's. They were in a white-walled room, and she could hear a distant rumbling.

The door opened and beyond it they saw people in Imperial uniforms running frantically and screaming through the halls. From this chaos came Harry Potter. His skin was darkened with soot, but he appeared otherwise unharmed.

Except for the expression on his face.

Remembering Daphne's words, Leia realized now what it was she was seeing. Overwhelming, unfathomable self-loathing darkened his features and made him ugly for the first time. It went beyond self-hatred into a soul-rending rage. "I'm sorry," he said.

All four women stared at him through their tears of pain. Harry continued forward until he fell painfully to his knees before Leia. "Give me your hands," he said.

Leia held the charred digits out, shaking. Harry took them, and for a split second agony made her scream—but only for a second. Power unlike anything she had ever felt flooded through her. She felt the burns on her face and body healing quickly, and looked down to see her muscle, tendons and flesh growing back before her eyes until her hands were whole and untouched.

With his own sob, Harry crawled to Maris and did the same, then to Mara and finally Winter. When all of them were healed, he leaned back against the wall. "I should have just let them blow the damned thermal port."

"What's happening?" Winter asked.

"The station's going," he said. As if to prove his words, the room around them shook violently. "And while I was doing my best to give them time to evacuate…damn it. Damn it to hell."

The loathing in his voice made Leia want to cry. Maris was, while the other two looked stricken. "Harry?" Leia asked.

"They're going to slaughter your base," he muttered. "The station was filled with thousands of ships and walkers and a million soldiers. They're abandoning the station by invading your base. Because I picked a method that would give them time to escape."

Leia looked at the women she knew were her sisters now, sisters in a relationship that transcended birth, and then back to the man around which their family was formed. "Who was Daphne Greengrass?"

Harry looked up, his eyes narrowed. "How did you hear that name?"

"She told it to me. I met her, and another woman named Susan, and a being named Ziiia. And they told me something important."

"What's that?"

"That sometimes you like to wallow in self-pity just as much as my birth father," Leia said, surprised at the sudden surge of anger. "You were careless with us, Harry. You saved those techs but almost killed us. How could you do that? You promised you would love us. But you hate yourself so much that you let that hate almost get us all killed. How could you do that?"

His eyes filled with tears than ran silently down his cheeks. "Daphne told you that?"

"She said you were so powerful, you were also capable of so much hate, and it was always directed at yourself. Damn it, Harry, if you're going to hate someone, then hate Palpatine for dragging you back to life. Hate him for killing your first wives. Hate the Empire for making this damned contraption in the first place. But please, don't hate yourself. Because when you hate yourself, Harry, you hurt us."

He stood up slowly, swaying a little as he closed his eyes. The rumbling around them grew stronger. "Gather around me," he said in a hoarse voice.

The four of them did so, embracing him from all angles. He somehow managed to hug them all, though it was Leia he leaned his head on. "Never again," he vowed quietly. "I will never hurt any of you again."

She looked up and stifled a gasp. His eyes were glowing. Not just glowing, but shining with brilliant green light as he truly tapped his power for the first time. Strange shapes began to glow on his skin. She felt the drain, but also felt it feeding back into her, making her stronger even as she made him stronger. They lifted off the floor even as the room began to shake violently.

She saw strange, alien symbols similar to the shapes on his skin flicker in the air around them, forming a transparent bubble just as the shaking violence around them cracked the walls. Beyond the door they heard screams from the stragglers unable to escape.

"Never again," Harry vowed again.

Maris whimpered even as she squeezed him.

The hypermatter reactor exploded. All around them was nothing but white as the station unleashed a torrent of primordial energy. Somehow, though, the energy did not touch them. Rather, it propelled them. She felt no motion at all, but beyond the strange bubble of translucent symbols, she saw the red glare of Yavin Prime and realized they were moving. Around them she saw thousands of TIE-fighters, drop ships, attack shuttles and even four actual cruisers permanently stationed within the Death Star, all flying at subspace toward Yavin IV.

Before she could see more, everything seemed to elongate. A moment later, they were above Yavin itself. "How?" she whispered.

"An old faster-than light technology from Susan Chamberlain's time," Harry said. "I warped space to propel us faster than light. Hyperdrive is faster in the long run, but can't go faster than light in gravitational systems. Warp drive can."

"You can travel faster than light just by yourself?" Winter asked. She actually sounded turned on by the thought.

"It gets uncomfortable after a while," Harry admitted. "Hang on, we're going to apparate down."

They felt a pulling sensation, and then they were on the tarmac at the rebel base. They could see X-wing and Y-wing fighters coming back in, having raced the Imperials. Harry though looked only at the summit of the Massassi ziggurat. He was so focused on it he did not see Jan Dodonna running toward them with a furious expression on his face.

"Potter!" he screamed. "Do you know what you've done?"

"Yes," Harry said simply. Dodonna stopped when he saw the light shining from Harry's eyes. "Pull all your forces back into the temple."

"Are you insane? We need to set up a defensive perimeter and…"

"Pull your people back!" Harry roared. The power of his voice caused men hundreds of meters away to look up and actually forced Dodonna back. The old general looked stunned.

Harry, though, was frowning. "My apologies," he said as he casually healed the general's shattered eardrums. "I made a mistake. And now I intend to fix it. Pull your people back, or they will die with the Imperials."

Too stunned to argue, Dodonna nodded and back away. Harry turned to his wives, and they could feel the anger flowing off him. While it was no longer directed solely at himself, neither was it directed against any one target. Rather, it was just a general seething rage in desperate need of release.

"Are you with me?" he asked.

"No matter what," Mara said. "We're your wives."

"Yes," Leia said, voicing the sentiment for the first time. "We are."

He looked at her, and the anger slowly changed into a grim determination. "Thank you." He held out both hands and all four went to him. The pulling sensation was followed a moment later by a thunderous pop as the four of them appeared at the top of the temple. Above them, the gathering clouds began to boil as the first of the strike cruisers swam down into the thick atmosphere of the planet. Immediately turbolaser bolts began to rain down toward the temple.

The glow in Harry's eyes became more intense as he raised a hand. The sudden drain of power brought Leia and the other four to their knees, but still they could see as the bolts struck a barrier over the base and reflected back to the cruiser itself. A second cruiser broke the atmosphere, as did the first wave of TIE fighters. In the distance they could see drop-ships placing hundreds of AT-ATs on the planet surface.

With a grunt of effort, Harry reached out both hands as if grabbing something above him. His wives watched in awe s the first strike cruiser suddenly turned into the second so fast that it cut the second ship in half. Both exploded as their reactors split. The concussion of the explosion flattened the forest below them and knocked hundreds of smaller craft from the sky. It washed past a bubble that now surrounded the top of the ziggurat.

The second pair of cruisers came from the other direction. Harry raised both hands and the air all around them began to shimmer and sparkle. The hair on Leia's body stood on end as incredible power gathered around them. Harry stepped forward and thrust both hands toward the ships. Two beams of white light formed in the air on either side of him and streaked toward the cruisers.

The beams sliced easily through shields and bisected both ships. They exploded seconds later.

Harry turned back to the approaching ground forces. Steam was rising from his body as power virtually poured out of him from the alien symbols on his body that only became visible when they glowed. His bared arms had a strange, inner luminescence, as if his bones were on fire with blue flame. Leia saw his lips moving, and once again she saw strange symbols flickering in the air. Once more power gathered about them, forming a bubble. By now the AT-ATs were close enough to fire on the temple, only to have their laser canon blasts strike another invisible shield.

Suddenly Harry screamed words that Leia could not understand, but which could be heard across the surface of the whole planet. "_EGO vindicatum illa populus! EGO servo illa populus! In nomen of justicia EGO vallo illa populus. May totus hostilis illorum populus exsisto debello. Sic permissum is fio_!"

Magic exploded from the tip of the pyramid, searing down through the air in a ring. Where the ring of blue force touched, machines stopped and people ceased. They did not fall dead, they simply ceased to be.

Just like that, the battle was over. Harry Potter sank down to the stone surface of the pinnacle, a square three meters wide. Leia and her new bond sisters stared at him, at how the air around him seemed to shimmer as if from great heat. Eventually, the shimmer passed, the glow faded, and only Harry remained.

"I just killed a million people," he said in a dead voice.

"You just saved your wives," Leia said.

He looked up at her, weeping. "You don't understand," he said. "There's always a price. Always. Maybe not now, but soon."

Mara, Maris and Winter gathered around him. "So what now?" Mara asked.

"I don't know," Harry said.

"I do," Leia said. "Something Daphne told me. She said we needed to find your fifth wife. And she said it always seemed darkness right before the morn."

"Not like her to talk in riddles," Harry muttered. "That's more Luna's area."

He sighed, looked up at the gas giant taking up much of the sky, and said, "I'm tired."

"We are too," Winter said.

Harry looked at each of them, until at last he settled on Leia. "Will you be with us tonight?" he asked. She knew exactly what he meant.

"Yes," she answered without hesitation.

"Then lets go."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

The figure in black armor looked up as his visitor arrived. The figure was surprised to see how gaunt and haunted his visitor was. And yet, with a flick of his hand the visitor _created_ a chair to sit on.

"We're going to be moving soon," the visitor said without preamble. "I destroyed the Death Star, and then I personally killed the military personal who evacuated the station and attempted to invade the moon."

The figure stared back in silence.

"I can see your mind, you know. I've seen your memories of walking into the temple and slaughtering those children. I've never directly killed children, but I've been responsible for their deaths. Children, mothers, fathers—whole species. Whole star systems. A galaxy. It's a terrible thing knowing the blood you've shed can never truly be washed off."

"Yes," game the figure's dark, rumbling reply.

"I loved your daughter tonight," the visitor said. "I bound her to me with magic. Soon she will not be human, but will be Magus like me. She will wield power like mine, and will one day, when peace allows, bear my children. But it will be far from here."

The dark figure was silent.

The visitor stared with brilliant green eyes that seemed to gather the dim light of the evening and focus it sharply. "Do you wish to stay here when we leave, or do you wish to come?"

"You would let me choose?"

"Everything begins with a choice," Harry Potter said. "I made a wrong choice which almost killed the women I loved; a choice that forced me to use my power in such a way that could end up endangering everyone. But it was a choice, and I will have to face the consequences. You made choices, Anakin. They were wrong choices as well, but you've been both hiding from, and also living the consequences for twenty years. Now I'm giving you a chance to make another choice—a choice to try and fix your mistake to the best of your ability."

"Anakin Skywalker died many years ago," came a rumbling response.

"Who we were never truly dies, it just grows quiet with time. A part of me is still the shy, terrified, abused boy I was growing up. I never wore a slave implant, but I was treated far worse than one. No matter how many lives I live, the shadow of that past will always haunt me. But still I try to go forward. Love is the only thing worth living for."

"Why do you do this for me?" Anakin asked.

"Because of love. Because I love your daughter. And because, if you give her a chance, she could love you. Luke is fascinated by you and wants to know the man behind the mask. He's dreamed his whole life of having a father, just like you did."

Anakin Skywalker said nothing as he stared down at his boots. "I was foolish," he admitted with great difficulty.

"No, Ani, you were a cross-eyed blithering idiot with stupid on top."

The mask rose, but instead of an angry growl, the vocalizer transmitted a wry, sad chuckle. "Yes. I remember when the Emperor first summoned you. How the Dathomiri witches fawned on you. Does my daughter fawn on you?"

Harry snorted. "Can you imagine Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan fawning on anyone? Or Mara Jade? I have had subservient wives before, and sometimes it's taken me years to teach them to stand up for themselves. But this batch is special. They are stronger than most of the wives I've had. Smarter. It's like magic knows the challenges are greater this time. I lost five young women who could have made me happy, but I've gained four young women who have made me stronger. Otherwise I would have ended on that Death Star."

"And your fifth?"

"She'll either show up or she won't. Leia told me she had a visit from the spirit of her ultimate predecessor, the first Lady Slytherin. That she was told it's always darkest before morn, whatever that means." He looked up. "Speaking of, it's almost morning now. The base will be empty within six hours. So I need a decision. If you stay, you'll remain in the cell until Imperial forces find you. If you come, you will do so as a man. Not a machine."

"I am not sure…I can face my children. Now that they know how terrible my crimes have been."

"It is easier to face an army than your own foolishness," Harry agreed.

Both looked up as a slim figure slid into the brig. She wore nothing more than a robe wrapped around her petite figure. Long, chestnut hair hung down to the small of her back. Her bare feet moved soundlessly over the stone until she stood behind Harry and looked into the cell.

The vocalizer issued a low moan, but otherwise the figure within the cell did not move.

"If you were on that terrible station," Leia said with an emotion-filled voice, "and knew what you know right now, would you have allowed them to destroy Alderaan?"

"No." The rumble emerged as another moan.

"If you knew then what you know now, would you have betrayed the Jedi? Or killed my mother?"

"No!" A wail now. "No, no no no no! I loved her so much. I wanted to leave the Order to be with her, but she was too strong to let either of us abandon our duties. I would have done anything for her. And he used that. Sidious used me, and I was too damn headstrong and foolish to see it. Until I lost her; until I lost you."

Leia looked down at Harry, who nodded. The bars of the brig melted away. Leia stepped forward until she knelt down before this creature who was her father. "I make you no promises," she said, through her own tears. "But I will at least try. But you have to choose me, father. I will never love Darth Vader. But I am willing to try to know Anakin Skywalker. Please come with us."

He looked at her in utter silence. As he did so, the black of his mask began to shimmer until, like the bars of his cell, it melted away to reveal the pale, scarred visage of the man below. His pale blue eyes widened in shock. But then he closed them as he took a deep, unhindered breath. "I can smell you," he whispered, as if it were the most profound thing to ever occur. "You smell like flowers. Padmé used to wear a fragrance like that."

He looked at Harry. "You have done this?"

"Like I said. If you come with us, you will do so as a man, not a machine."

The old eyes closed, and then grew moist as the man known as Darth Vader wept. He slid from the bench in the wall to the floor before his daughter, sobbing. Leia wept as well as she gently pulled his head to her shoulder and held her father.

"Thank you, Harry," she whispered.

"You're welcome, my love," he said tiredly. He then stood and left the brig, allowing father and daughter their moment of peace.


	19. Interlude the First

Author's Note: While this is a longer chapter, it is Harry free, being a set-up for the continuation of the story, and background for my personal favorite EU Star Wars character. For those who only want to read about Harry, feel free to sit this chapter out. (Rev)

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: Interlude (or, When Kyle Met Jan, a Romance)**

**1 BHBUtDS (One Year Before Harry Blew Up the Death Star)**

"Touch down, break in and wreck the place," Cadet Leader Kyle Katarn muttered to himself. "Sure, no problem."

"Talking to oneself is a sure sign of stress, sir," Sergeant Major Hong said. "It won't go well on your exercise rating."

"They can flunk me, so long as I get us off this rock," Kyle said.

AX-456 was a large asteroid floating in the belt of the Ax System in the center of the Barma Sector. Imperial Intelligence reported that the Rebels had a comm center established in the center of the asteroid and were planning on blasting the nearby systems with illegal psyprop.

General Rom Mohc back at the Academy decided this would by Katarn's Omega Exercise to determine if he would serve the army as an enlisted stormtrooper, or as an officer. He led three squads of four storm troopers each into the Rebel base under the surface of the asteroid, in what was supposed to be a quick east lightning raid, and found it was anything but.

They used standard tactics by blowing the door, firing in two stun detonators, and then they swarmed the door expecting to find a few stunned rebs.

Following imperial protocol drilled into his head after three year at the Academy, Kyle waited until the first squad was through before he jumped in as well. He came through just in time to see the head of Trooper Dalence Istir explode before a heavy blaster rifle bolt. Bits of armor and bone pinged against Kyle's own armor as he ducked and ran for cover that did not exist.

He peeked up, and in a split second saw that they were in a snipestom. The rebels were smart—crates and anything else that could be used as cover was moved away from the entrance, leaving the incoming storm troopers nothing to use as cover. Two more troopers were already on the floor dead, and his men were still coming in.

To his left he saw an unlit, seemingly undefended corridor . To his right he saw nothing but stone. "Make for the corridor!" Sergeant Hong cried over the enemy fire.

He did not know why, but Kyle knew with absolute, gut-wrenching certainty that if they went down the corridor, they would die. "Negative," he shouted, speaking his first command since they rushed the door. "Blast the ceiling, collapse it on the rebs!"

The surviving nine troopers obeyed as they were trained. Ignoring the incoming fire as best they could, they started firing their blaster rifles into the ceiling directly over the head of the hunched rebels.

The sound of the rebel screams was gratifying when the ceiling collapsed on them. In the sudden silence, Kyle stood up and took a quick headcount. Four men dead, a full third of his force.

The respite did not last long—more reb soldiers emerged from the shadows of the corridor. They yelled as they charged, but Kyle looked past them at the two additional rebels who were lugging something large and black from a previously hidden emplacement.

Kyle saw what it was: a heavy e-web. If they got that set up, Kyle and his people were dead.

"They sprung the trap too soon!" Kyle said. "Take the corridor before they get that e-web up!"

Sergeant Major Hong saw the placement and slapped another trooper. "What the heck are you waiting for, Briggs? An engraved invitation? Get out there and kill some rebels!"

Briggs charged forward with the rest of the troopers and met the running rebs head on. The rebels pulled out short vibro-blades that could punch through armor easily.

Kyle did not hesitate or flinch back—they did not have time. He launched himself feet first and kicked the face of the reb in front of him, while spinning in mid-air and firing point-blank into the temple of the reb trying to take out Hong. He felt in a tangle of limbs on top of the reb, spun off and then slammed an armored elbow into the reb's nose.

The reb's nose shattered and sent bone fragment flying into the man's brain. He convulsed, but Kyle was already on feet. He spun out of a knife-jab, used the butt of his rifle to knock the attacker into a wall while firing at a second. His first attacker grunted under a blaster-bolt from Hong and Kyle continued toward the two men setting up the e-web.

One of the two looked up and fired his pistol. Kyle ducked the wild shot and returned one with much better accuracy. The reb fell back clutching his burned chest. "No!" the remaining reb cried in frustration, right before Kyle vaped his face.

He reached the e-web. It was just coming on. "Down!" he shouted over the stormtrooper secured channel. The surviving troopers dropped, leaving a handful of surviving rebs exposed for the explosion of repeater blaster fire that saturated the hall.

"Okay," Kyle said in a shaky voice. "Headcount, who's left?"

Six troopers clicked back, plus Hong and Kyle himself. Half his men were dead. Hong took off his helmet for a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Why didn't you lead us down here when we first came under fire?"

"Just a feeling," Kyle said. "It was too easy a way out."

"Well, that feeling saved our lives," Hong said. "They must have had the e-web just around the corner. The crossfire would have wiped us all out in a minute."

"Lucky," Kyle said modestly. "If you can call it that."

"Missions not over 'til the enemy's dead, or we are," Hong said.

Their helmet comlinks beeped. "Strike force, this is _Imperitor_. We have detected rebel ships inbound. We are moving to intercept, but they are going to reach you first. Be advised."

"Read you, _Imperitor_," Kyle said. He took breath. "So, how long as the mission been so far?"

"I have about ten minutes since arrival, Cadet Leader."

"Ten minutes, and I lost half my men. Wonder what that's going to look like on my rating."

"Like you saved half your men from a trap that would have killed us all," Hong said. He pulled his helmet on. "Okay slugs, this isn't over. Two by twos, full alert! There are still rebs on this rock!"

They continued down the unlit corridor, fully aware of the fact that the increasing amounts of dust was cutting down on their visibility. They didn't walk five minutes before they turned a corner and found themselves staring at twenty rebel troopers—twenty hurt, unarmed rebel troopers.

"Freeze!" Kyle ordered.

The rebels, all of whom were covered in suit and dust from the collapsed ceiling, and who were visibly mauled by the collapse, slowly lifted their hands into the air. Some were not even in uniforms. That one, a young woman with a soot-stained face and dark hair tucked behind her ears, stood on an obviously injured leg and held up both hands.

"We surrender," she said. "We have injured."

"There are twenty of them," Hong said over their secure line. "We don't have enough people to take that many prisoners. We have to grease them before their reinforcements arrive."

When Kyle didn't immediately answer, Hong took that as assent. He and the six troopers knelt down, ready to fire. Kyle was watching the woman, and saw the look of fearful resignation that crossed her strangely familiar, beautiful face.

The whole asteroid suddenly shook under the impact of a docking ship. The reinforcements were there.

Kyle removed his helmet and was immediately assaulted by the smells of blood and dust. "Negative on greasing the rebs, Sergeant major," Kyle said clearly.

The woman's eyes popped open and she stared long and hard at Kyle.

"Sir?" Hong said aloud.

"There's been enough killing today." He turned back to the woman. "Where was your fall-back position?"

With a shaky hand, she pointed back to a door in the corridor the troopers just left. "Cafeteria."

"Sergeant Major, take the men and fall back to the cafeteria and fortify our position. Make sure you grab the e-web."

"Sir?"

"The rebs can't keep this base, Sergeant. We know about it and we have a star destroyer en route. Mission is accomplished. Let's make sure we live to enjoy the victory."

The sergeant glanced back at the rebs, then back to Kyle. "Fall back!" he ordered.

Kyle started backing up. "With all due respect, ma'am," he said to the rebel agent, "I really hope I don't see you again. I'd hate to have to be the one to kill you." With that he joined his men.

The cafeteria was smaller than the briefing room on the _Imperitor_, but it would have to do. Already the troopers had the two tables in the room on their sides. All of them pooled their thermal detonators behind the makeshift barrier, which also consisted of the food box that had been tipped onto its side.

"I only have one order for you!" Kyle said as the sound of reb troopers approached. "Survive!"

The door blew open, and the first influx of rebs was met by one of their eight detonators. The explosion ripped one wall down, but also killed the first four rebs through the door and forced the rest to take cover. It was through that hole that Kyle could see the woman helping her fellows through the hall toward the evacuation ship. Some small, insane part of the cadet leader hoped she made it.

The second wave of rebs met the e-web and died as fast as the first. There was not a third wave. Having evacuated their injured, the rebs began a steady retreat. Kyle heard a distant shout of, "The first ship is away" and knew that, whatever her name is, the rebel woman was gone.

"Sergeant major, I think we're going to make it," Kyle said with a relieved sigh.

"Sir?" Kyle looked at the trooper who spoke, and then down at the floor a few feet from his boot. Hong was dead, shot between the eyes. His helmet was melted partially away to reveal one wide-opened, blood-soaked eye.

The twenty-year old cadet leader knelt down beside his mentor. "Damn," he whispered.

* * *

**3 months BHBUtDS**

"Maybe you should lay off the drink, friend," the Sabbac player said.

Kyle stared at the man with a sneer. Smooth dark skin, light-pen thin mustache, a penchant for blue capes. He oozed smooth, and from the ladies hanging off his shoulders, others sensed it too. And yet, for all that Kyle wanted to hate the man, he found he couldn't.

"Not hurting anyone," he said.

"Only yourself," Lando Calrissian said with that damned irritating smile of his. "The _Star of Empire_ is a luxury cruiser for people to relax, my young friend. Not drink themselves into oblivion. You can do that back at the bars on Carida."

Kyle blinked in surprised. "How'd you know that?"

"A player always knows. You move like a soldier. Now, go back to your quarters, sleep it off, and tomorrow try having some fun. You're a handsome man, and you look like you have a future. I'm sure some nice ladies will be glad to keep you company."

One of the ladies on Calrissian's arms gave Kyle a long, appraising look. "Definitely," she said.

"Fine," Kyle muttered. He stumbled away from the sabbac table, leaving half his money and most of his pride. As much as it pained him to admit, Calrissian was right. The drink wasn't helping. Nothing was helping.

_The bastards didn't even let me go home_.

Here he was, returning a hero from his Omega Exercise, awarded the Imperial Medal of Honor, and yet he was denied leave to…

The communiqué was short and abrupt, in typical Imperial manner:

_To: Cadet Captain Kyle Katarn _

_Re: Rebel Activity on Sulan_

_It is with regret that we must inform you that the city of Baron's Hed on Sulon was subject to a surprise attack of Rebel forces. The attack resulted in the death of two hundred forty three civilians, including: Morgan Katarn._

_End Transmission._

And that was it. No leave. No delivery of personal affects. No acknowledgement of any kind that the last of his parents was gone. In fact it was a droid-generated letter with the name obviously a variable that could be amended for any of the victims. His mother had died shortly before he entered the academy, and now his father was dead, reduced to nothing more than a variable data field on a form letter.

He wondered, knowing what he did now, if he would have let those rebs go on AX-456. Not that it mattered. His father would still be dead and…

It was a testament to how much he drank that he did not see and avoid the woman when he turned the corner. His situational awareness was usually much, much better than that. Nonetheless, he hit her head on and both went down in a tangle.

"Sorry," he started to say, but then his words stumbled over themselves as he saw who was splayed on the ground beside him. "You!"

It was the reb—the girl from AX-456 who felt so oddly familiar. A Rebel Alliance operative was on the _Star of Empire _just three months after the blasted rebs greased his father. Without hesitation, Kyle hit her.

He hit her hard.

She cried out in pain and rolled away with surprising dexterity right into a mass of legs. Katarn climbed unsteadily to his feet, and as he did so he saw that the men around her were not just passengers. As Calrissian said, a player knows; these were soldiers.

"Not nice to hit a lady," one of the men said with a threatening growl.

"Not nice to murder a man's parents either," Kyle roared. He attacked without hesitation, and in seconds found himself in a real fight. The four men with the Reb were trained at least as well as he was. On his side he had strength, skill, and one of the highest hand-to-hand combat training ratios in the Academy.

Against him was the fact he was so drunk he could barely stand.

Even drunk, he had one man flat on the ground in a second and another clutching his stomach with a moan. The other two were made of sterner stuff and the fight dragged on until the adrenaline of the fight gave way before the soporific effects of the drink and Kyle did not duck in time.

He saw a flash of stars and heard a strange ringing in his ears before he went down.

He woke up a second later to the shock of cold water. His hands were tightly secured behind his back. He was sitting on an overly plush couch that actually made it harder to get up than if it had been a proper chair. The room was empty save for the Rebel woman, sporting a nice bruise on her cheek, and a large holopad.

"Before you open your mouth again, you arrogant ass," the woman snapped, "there is something you need to see. When you're done watching, then we talk."

Kyle just glared, wishing Sergeant Major Hong was there. But then the lights when down, and the holopad began displaying scenes of a battle. It was Barons Hed, his home.

He watched as clearly Imperial forces swept through the automated defenses of the Katarn Estate. He watched as Jerec, an Inquisitor of the Empire, tortured his father, and then slowly severed the man's head with a lightsaber, moving the blade slowly so that Morgan would feel it for an eternity.

The last image was of Morgan Katarn's head on a stick.

The holopad deactivated, leaving the woman sitting on a chair across from him, looking at him intently.

"The Alliance to Restore the Republic does not attack civilian targets," she said. "We never have, we never will. The civilian casualities reported on the holonet for the past year have all been Jerec or another inquisitor hunting down Force-potentials or wiping out Alliance-sympathizers. Your father was one of ours. He wasn't a soldier, but he helped pass information and what supplies he could. We would never kill him, because he was our friend. Think about that, Kyle Katarn. Think long and hard. And when you're done thinking, you'll see me again."

By the end of the cruise, Kyle Katarn was no longer a hero of the empire.

* * *

**1 AHBUtDS (One Year After Harry Blew Up the Death Star)**

Rebel Alliance Operative Kyle Katarn made a single wave with his left hand, and a squad of four SpecForce soldiers rushed passed him in a running duck, taking cover behind a row of spent tabanna gas canisters. His own squad followed a moment later with their intel agent a step behind.

The steady rain which had fallen unceasingly since they landed interfered with Kyle's hearing, and dampened the effectiveness of the thermal monocle that hung down from his helmet visor. "Motion tracker?' he asked.

Behind him, agent Jan Ors checked her handheld and shook her head. "Nothing," she said in a quiet tone that actually travelled less distance than a typical whisper. "All the base's point defenses are inactive. Not a single blast mark. No indication of fire at all."

"They were shooting at something," Kyle muttered. The parade ground in front of the base was blackened and cratered with laser canon fire. But Jan was right—the base showed no sign of receiving fire from whatever landed. On the other hand, they had only received one message—that Tak Base, the rebel fortification on the planet Talay, was going into secure lock down due to an enemy attack.

"As far as I can see, the area is clear of all enemy activity. No motion. No EM readings indicating attack droids."

"Fine," Kyle said. He did not like this at all—when Mon Mothma asked him to check out what happened to the Tak Base on Talay, he thought it would be a quick solo jaunt, which is what he preferred. Instead he got settled commanding a SpecForce team as if he were regular Alliance and not a mercenary on contract.

Now that he had them, though, he was going to get them in and out alive. He stood while the rest of his men staying under cover, and walked nervously across the killing zone in front of the base until he reached the main entrance. The security pad was flashing red, indicating the base was still in lockdown.

When no enemy fire came, Kyle motioned and the rest of his two squads followed. They took up position on either side of the door with their weapons at the ready. Kyle took the Command Override crystal out and slipped it into the security pad.

The flashing red panel turned green, and the heavy door groaned as it began to lower. Kyle stepped back and gripped his own rifle to be at the ready. A wave of air rushed out of the entrance, bringing with it the gagging smell of rancid, decaying flesh and death.

"Force preserve us," Jan muttered. "What is that stench?"

"Secure for biohazard," Kyle ordered. He reached up and tapped the edge of his helmet. Biogauze popped out from around the rim with a static seal around the edge which connected to and secured itself against the collar of his uniform. He sealed the space between his gloves and the sleeves of his uniform, and then activated the small air scrubber in his backpack.

It took him less than sixty seconds. The others were all ready at around the same time. "This is when I miss stormtrooper armor," he muttered. "On three, secure all zones. One, two, three, go go go!"

The eight soldiers, Kyle and Jan rushed through the door and assumed positions that formed a hemisphere which covered every angle within the door. "Clear," the soldiers said quietly, one area by another, until they visually cleared the entrance.

"Looks like the interior has been locked down," Jan quickly said. "Every door is secured."

"Good, we can clear them out door by door. Sholly, secure the front. Set up the e-web. Friend or foe recognitions on, please. I'd rather not get shot by my own guns."

"Come on, it'd be fun," Sholly said.

Something else stormtroopers never did—Rebel soldiers talked back.

Kyle couldn't deny they were good, though. They went to the first door on their left and entered the override. With their biohazard gauze up, they could not smell the air any more, but it was thick enough he could almost see the stench.

"What the hell happened here?' he asked as the nine of them once again assumed the hemisphere position. Lights overhead were flickering on and off. It actually hung from the ceiling, as if something had struck it.

One they cleared the room, they left the door open and crossed through to the next door. It opened, and they found their first body, or at least a part of it. In fact, it was a torso and half a head, and one arm. The rest was smeared across the floor, as if it had been dragged. The insignia on the torn uniform indicated the woman—for the torso had obviously been female—held the rank of second lieutenant.

"_E chu ta_!" Jan muttered. "Kyle, you feeling any ju-ju?"

Kyle closed his eyes, trying out his fledging Force skills. "All I sense is dark."

"Dark as in the lights aren't working, or dark as in something trying to eat your guts and suck your soul out through your noses."

"Uh, the latter."

"_E chu ta chaoi_!" she said. "So, what next?"

"We need to get to the command room and get the base log to find out what happened," he said. "What's the most direct route?"

"Back the way we came, then right two rooms, then a turn left."

"Fine, let's move out.

Sholly was waiting for them, alert and nervous. "What's up?"

"Something in this place farkled-up a lieutenant beyond recognition."

"You couldn't make out her face?'

"She didn't have one," Kyle said. "We're going straight to the command center to get the surveillance crystals, then we're going to blow the base and leave. Be on alert—there was something very not nice here, and it feels like it may still be here."

They went to the room Jan indicated and overrode the lock. The door opened and the first trooper started to move in when a large gray claw slashed out, impaling the man in the stomach and then ripping up with a wet, tearing sound. The body flew back into one of his companions while the rest of the soldiers jumped back in terror.

A monstrosity jumped out of the room, snarling and snapping massive jaws. It appeared roughly bipedal, with slick, heavily veined gray skin and massive claws for hands. Its head was a misshapen lump with two huge nose slits and two tiny eyes on either side of them. It roared and surged toward Kyle.

Training overcame paralyzing fear. He did not fire his blaster; he pulled his lightsaber and slashed in five quick strikes, just as Master Kenobi had taught him over the past year he had spent learning from the old man.

Whatever the creature was, it was not immune to the tool of the Jedi, even one only a year into his training. The monster fell in pieces to the floor and did not move.

"Stans is gone!" a soldier over the body said.

"What was that?" Kyle snapped.

"I think that was a rakghoul," Jan said in a shaky voice.

"A what?" Kyle said incredulously.

Sholly from the door said, "We are so farkled."

"Shut it!" Kyle said. "Our objective has not changed. We go in tight and ready for action. Four ahead, one on either side, the rest facing back. Shoot anything that moves. Open up your guns to full power and don't be afraid of using your plasma charges."

They quickly assembled and stepped into the room. The walls were coated in blood, and in a corner they could see bones and other body remnants, including an oddly intact, even pristine left foot.

They tried not thinking about it and unlocked the next room. The room was occupied, but the rakghoul was on the far side of the room, eating what looked like a human arm. It looked up with a snarl, only to be met with the concentrated fire of eight very scared soldiers. Even so, it still managed to stand and take a step forward before it died.

"One more room to clear, then the command room," Jan said.

Kyle stared to override the door, but paused. "What is it?" Jan asked.

"A feeling," he said. "The kind of feeling that got me out of your trap on AX-456." He backed off from the door. "Dannis, Chubbs, heavy weapons on the door. I'm not sure I can do this, but I don't want anyone next to that door when it opens."

Kyle closed his eyes to center himself, while his men and Jan fell silent. When Kyle opened his eyes, the override crystal in his hand lifted gently into the air, and floated toward the door panel. "Get ready," he said.

He used the Force to guide the crystal into the door. The light when from red to green, and the door opened.

The rakghouls poured out roaring. Dannis and Chubbs opened up with their heavy blaster repeaters, while the rest fired their assault rifles. The first rakghoul through the door took three stutter steps before it fell, but immediately behind it another monster burst out. Chubbs screamed but continued firing into the creature's chest. A third jumped toward Dannis, only to stop mid air and fly back into the door to meet a fourth still trying to get out.

Kyle dropped his hand, pulled his blaster rifle and shot the creature that had its jaws around Chubbs' face directly in the head. It fell off Chubbs, who was moaning in agony. Dannis continued firing, and Jan cocked a plasma charge into her rifle's secondary launcher and fired. The plasma charge hit the forth rakghoul in the chest and blew the creature apart, splattering the room beyond it, while the third faltered and died under Dannis' withering fire.

When no more rakghouls came through, they stopped firing and turned to Chubbs.

"Mikales," Kyle said softly, "take his weapon. Chubbs, can you hear me?"

"Eeerrrgh," came the grunted reply. The rakghoul's jaw encompassed the whole of the man's head, with puncture wounds at the top of his skull and in his chin.

Jan knelt down and applied bacta patches to the wounds. "You hang in their Chubbs," she said. "We'll get you on the way back and you'll be just fine." After the patches were on, she injected him with a general antibio regimen and painkiller cocktail developed for field injuries.

She stood and shivered. "How could this happen?" she whispered. "There hasn't been a rakghoul plague in thousands of years. I didn't even know they still existed other than myths to scare naughty children."

"Hell, these things scare naughty commandos," Kyle muttered. "Is everyone else ready? Next room after this one is the command room. We grab the crystal, and then we get the hell out."

They stepped into the cleared room and walked toward the transparisteel windows that let them see into the command room. As they did so, Kyle felt sick. The whole room was covered not just in blood, but what looked like assorted organs, limbs, heads and other body parts. He could recognize a few of the heads from the briefing they received on the way to investigate why the Alliance lost contact with the base.

Moving through the carnage were almost a dozen rakghouls.

"Yep, we're farkled," Jan muttered. "Just four of those broke through our heavy weapons."

"I know," Kyle said. Strangely, the rakghouls didn't even seem aware of the observers on the other side of the room. Perhaps because they couldn't smell them. "Jan, where are the surveillance crystals?"

"See that computer console on the far side, second one from the wall?"

"Yeah."

"The crystals are inside that. I don't think you could use the Force to get them."

"Well, didn't hurt to ask."

Kyle looked around the room and saw what looked like a snack box. "Let's move that box over to the window."

Once the box was moved, Kyle stepped up onto the meter wide box, and used his lightsaber to burn a six centimeter wide hole. The moment he put away his lightsabers, the rakghouls began howling and running about the room.

"I think they can smell us now," Jan said.

"Joy," Kyle muttered. "Get your thermal detonators out."

Each of them carried two detonators. Kyle started with his own. He reached up and slipped the detonator into the hole, and clicked the delayed start on it, but did not push it through. He raised a hand, using the Force to guide the detonator into the room. He moved it directly into the path of a rakghoul. The monster paused to sniff at it just as it detonated.

The blast knocked Kyle off the box, though it did not break through the transparisteel. When the smoke cleared, his target rakghoul and another one close by were dead, and the others were already feeding.

"I am going to be sick," Jan said.

"Later!" Kyle said. He slipped two more detonators through, activated them, and guided both directly into the hive of feeding monsters. He braced himself better this time and hopped down on his own as the two explosives detonated. When the smoke cleared, the rakghouls were dead.

"And that's how it's done," Kyle said. He entered the override, and they rushed into the room with weapons ready. The only movement came from one twitching rakghoul with no legs. Dannis put it down without hesitation, while Jan ran toward the surveillance console. Kyle stood watch over her, his lightsaber in one hand and his blaster rifle in the other.

She had the console open and was digging into its guts in seconds. "Got them!" she said. "Base recordings since we lost contact, and it looks like we even have a couple of sentry logs as well. Let's… Kyle, what is that?"

Kyle followed her gaze at what looked like a black armored storm trooper, only one unlike any he'd ever seen. For one, it was a droid. A droid the rakghouls had obviously torn apart. But the concerning part of it was that it was clearly of Imperial design, including the assault rifle a few feet from it.

Kyle grabbed the rifle. "We'll look at this once we get back to base. In the meantime, let's get the hell out of here."

They all turned to go, but froze.

Chubbs stood in the doorway, only it wasn't Chubbs. His face looked as if it were melting, with black ooze running from his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Already his mandible jutted out far further than it should have, and his hair was falling out even as they watched. "Help me!" he growled. They heard a snapping sound and it looked if something squashed his head. His face jutted forward violently while the crown of his skull dropped. He seemed to swell, and they all heard the tearing sound as slick, vein-riddled gray skin expanded underneath the clothes.

"Chubbs," Kyle whispered. "Dannis, take him out!"

Dannis was too paralyzed by fear to move. It was Mikales, carrying Chubbs repeater blaster, who stepped forward and opened fire in a long, continuous spray that splattered the mutating Chubbs all over the wall behind him.

"Sholly!" Jan whispered.

"Lets go, flank!" Kyle shouted. The seven of them left the command center and ran through the other rooms in time to hear a man screaming in terror and pain. They emerged in the main entrance to see the creature that had once been Stanns ripping Sholly's head off while burying its face in his torn abdomen to feed.

"Bastard!" Dannis screamed. He opened fire, and Mikales followed. In seconds, the last rakghoul was dead, leaving only seven of the ten left.

"Come on," Kyle said darkly. "We're getting the hell of this rock, and we are burning this base into atoms!"


	20. Interlude the Second

A/N: This is the first of two chapters to be posted today. This chapter, like the last, is SW centric. So if you didn't like the last, you won't like this one. Just sit tight, and tonight we'll get back to some Harry POV. Reviews and complaints were responded to in my forums.

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**Chapter Twenty: Interlude the Second (or, In Which Kyle Meets an Old Friend)**

"How in the hell did you talk me into this again?" Kyle said as he pulled at the collar of his shiny new Alliance SpecForce uniform.

Jan batted her eyes. "I said please?"

"I've hit you before," he warned.

"And got your scrawny ass kicked because of it."

"True."

The banter between he and Ors continued as the two walked toward the bridge of the _Teelin_, the _Nebulon-B_ frigate escorting them to Jabiim. He wore the uniform of a newly commissioned Colonel in the Alliance Special Forces command, something he repeatedly swore he would never do.

Until Jan said please.

The past year working along-side the rebel operative who gave him sufficient cause to defect from the Empire was a strange experience. She was at one frustrating and exhilarating. She was one of the finest field operatives the Alliance had, and served as his direct communication to the Alliance Command, since technically he was a hired mercenary.

But something changed on Talay. There was something about the fear on her face that moved him in a way he had not felt before. The shell of anger and rage over his father's death started to crack a little as he watched her scream during the rakghoul assault. Jan did not scream, ever. It infuriated him that there was something in the universe that could make this woman scream at all, and he wanted to destroy it.

When she asked that he formally accept a commission, he saw her screaming in his memory, and said yes.

What followed were two missions to hunt down the perpetrators of the Tak Base massacre. The first mission was not difficult, and one he was able to pull off by himself, despite Jan's pleading that he not go alone.

However, after half a day in the sewers of Anoat, he emerged dragging the small, loudly complaining Moff Rebus behind him. Jan's typical response was: "By the Force, Kyle, you stink!" Jan said.

Kyle Katarn did not look amused as he dragged the small, loudly complaining Moff Rebus behind him. "I'm pretty sure this sludge is toxic, too," he muttered. "Would you prepare the decon bath for me?"

"Sure."

Following the horror at Talay, Kyle reported to Intelligence their findings, and the only clue they found at the base—a modified Imperial blaster rifle with the etched initials MR.

The Intelligence Command out of Hoth said that MR was the mark of eccentric Imperial weapons designer Moff Rebus. The terms "eccentric" barely touched on the surface of a man who built weapons of both personal and mass destruction in the sewers of a dead planet.

"Let me go you mangy bantha-beard!" the small man ranted, while Kyle continued to drag him to Jan's personal ship, the _Moldy Crow_.

"I want to be a part of the interrogation," Kyle said darkly.

"You can have him," Jan said. The two stank from the toxic sewers Kyle had to go through to get his man. But, as with everything Kyle set out to do, he succeeded.

Jan ran ahead to get the shower ready.

The next mission followed on the heels of Rebus' bragging and took them to Fest.

His desire to sneak in by himself was quickly crushed when Jan organized an entire strike force, to be led under his command.

They reached the outer perimeter of the relatively low-security base and took out the patrol easily enough. Once the perimeter was secured, Kyle brought the entire force in. "Motion or EMs?" Kyle whispered.

Behind him, in armor herself, Jan shook her head. "No motion, I'm not detecting any pulses indicating an alarm."

Kyle nodded in satisfaction. Though he missed the action on Hoth, his actions on Talay were impressive enough to General Vernon for him to be once more kicked up the command chain to lieutenant colonel. At the rate he was going, he would be supreme commander of the universe before he was thirty.

And somehow, he knew Jan would be right behind him, telling him what to do every minute of the day.

They knew about the Metallurgical Testing Station on Fest only because Moff Rebus could not help bragging. He didn't actually answer any of their questions, but he bragged incessantly about how wonderful the new metal the Empire was researching was, and how many holes they would blast into the rebel scum once the testing on Fest was done. For an evil genius, Rebus really wasn't that smart.

But the results spoke for themselves, and Kyle was leading the largest insertion team he'd had since he left the Empire. He stood now, counting heads as the team shuffled past, fifty men and women armed to the teeth, with an assault shuttle on the far side of the planet ready for air support or pick up if necessary.

SpecForce was not organized for large-scale combat, though. The Rebel military concentrated on small squad-force strike teams of four to five operators, each cross-trained to do all the jobs necessary in each team.

"All are in position," the squad captains reported.

The facility was in the standard Imperial lay out, with broad halls and gray walls. His insertion team squatted behind the rocks leading up to then front entrance. The walls surrounding the base were easily forty feet high, and Kyle's monocle could detect the detection field rising up the wall surface.

"On three, teams one through nine are a go, team ten to cover." Kyle said. "Weapons hot, stun officers and anyone in white lab coats. Kill the rest. On three. One, two, three, go go go!"

Fifty men and women, plus Kyle and Jan, broke from their cover. Instantly two wall-mounted laser cannons swung out from hidden compartments, only to be met by a barrage of shoulder-mounted rockets from the covering team. The incoming teams suddenly shot into the air as their gravity boots launched them above the laser-shielded walls.

Storm troopers were already pouring onto the ramparts of the wall but were not prepared for airborne soldiers bearing down on them. Repeater blasters shot off staccato blasts that raked the defenders. Kyle was the first to land at the forefront of his men and had a lightsaber out with his right hand while he fired his blaster rifle with his left.

The battle was short and vicious. Three Rebels died, but the cost to the Empire was easily ten times that.

"Move!" Kyle said. "Teams seven and eight together," he ordered, since those were the teams with the losses. The plan was dependent on at least five teams. The main base defense seemed to be its secrecy—it did not appear on any Imperial documents and the system was otherwise empty.

Still, each hall was equipped with ceiling-mounted e-web blasters. However, each SpecForce team answered with a Destructive Electromagnetic Pulse 2 ion carbine, known was a DEMP 2 carbine. The e-webs had a three second turn radius, which meant that unless it was already pointed at you, it gave you a second or two to move or fire back.

If it was already pointed at you, you were dead.

Most cases, though, they were table to get off a shot from the DEMP II, which disabled the e-webs almost instantly. They continued to meet sporadic resistance as they went, but with eight functioning teams and Kyle's lightsaber, the lightly defended facility had difficulty trying to hold back the onslaught.

That's when they met the Dark Trooper.

Team 3 just finished clearing out a squad of storm troopers down the hall from Kyle when a single black thing stepped in the hall in front of them. Kyle felt a surge of danger in the Force and looked up in time to see the five men of Team 3 die before a barrage of dumb-fire missiles shot from almost point blank range.

"All teams converge, heavy in hall 22B!" Kyle ordered as he rushed forward with his blaster rifle firing.

The dark trooper moved faster than any human Kyle had seen and managed to dodge most of the fire while firing a blue-white plasma burst.

With a curse on his lips and a push with the Force, Kyle sent himself flying forward away from the burst. He dropped his blaster in the process, but emerged from the forward dive in a rolling thrust.

His lightsaber struck the lethal construct in the center of its abdominal plate and actually pushed his hand aside; he could see burns and scorch marks, but the lightsaber did not pierce the armor. The dark trooper did not hesitate and sent Kyle flailing through the air with a backhand.

Team four emerged around a corner and opened up with DEMP guns and blasters. The Dark Trooper absorbed a lot of damage and fired back, forcing the team to break.

Kyle, bleeding and dizzy from the blow, jumped back into the fray. His saber slashed at the massive cannon the droid carried. An ordinary gun would have fallen in two—but even with this new metal, Kyle's swing was strong enough to damage the gun.

Again a metal fist sent him flying. He looked up from the blow to see the cannon pointed at him. This close, he saw it was a droid in storm-trooper type armor.

The droid pulled the trigger and the damaged cannon exploded.

Kyle Force-pushed against the floor, causing himself to slide back and away from the worst of the concussion. His ears rang, though, and he could feel tiny bits of debris biting into his body from it. When he opened his eyes and the stars cleared, the droid stood in the center of the hall swaying unevenly. Its right arm was gone and one leg was damaged.

"Finish it!" Kyle cried in a pain-hoarsened voice.

The rest of the teams by then had congregated and fired on the droid until it went down. Instantly Jan and the nearest medic were there. "Ears," Kyle said. "Can't hear."

When he said that, both stopped talking and quickly put in a sonic stabilizer in each ear. The pain diminished as small squirts of bacta began their work. In the mean time, the devices allowed him to hear again, though through an artificial filter.

"What was that thing?" Jan asked.

"Something made of phrik that blew big holes in us," Kyle said. "If that's the Empire's new project, we're in for some good times ahead." He climbed to his feet, employing every Jedi trick Masters Kenobi taught him. "Is the rest of the base secured?"

"It is," the captain of Team 1 said.

"Let's go to the labs, then."

The separate teams did their jobs with predictable efficiency, cleaning out the interior defenses and defenders. All the captured researchers were gathered in the man laboratory. The station commander was still unconscious, but his code card sat on a table top not far from the team members guarding the prisoners.

A captain in a white lab coat was already awake and staring at the rebels with an expression of contempt.

"Well, well," Kyle said as he stepped into the room. "Captain Danson. Fancy seeing you here."

The captain spat. "Traitor. The Emperor is going to kill you!"

"Probably has bigger fish to fry," Kyle said. "So, tell me about these big troopers."

"I'll tell you nothing!" Danson said. "I can't believe I called you a friend once."

"Don't feel too bad. We were both young and stupid. But the difference is, I grew up and got smart. You just grew up. Jan, you have it?"

Jan handed Kyle a hypospray. Danson's eyes widened and he started to struggle when a pair of commandos held him down. Kyle injected his former academy classmate with the truth serum and then sat back, cross-legged in front of the man while the drug took effect.

"You okay, Kyle?" Jan whispered.

"I'll make it," Kyle promised.

When he saw Danson get glassy eyed, he took a deep breath and brought the Force to bear on the other man's mind. "Captain Danson, I am Lieutenant Kyle Katarn from the 921st Storm Trooper Regiment. You know me from the Academy."

"Yeah," Danson said with a faint smile. "Couldn't hold your whiskey for anything."

"I drank you under the tables twice, you lying Gamorrean cow."

"Yeah, good to see you again, Kyle."

"You too, Tenis. I have received orders from Moff Rebus to do an accounting of the research here. Report."

Danson's brows creased as for a moment he fought against the combined effects of the drugs and Kyle's mind against his own. The battle was brief, though. "Phase II of the Dark Trooper project was successful, but the phrikite processing is still slower than anticipated. We have produced enough to provide the necessary escorts for Project Talisman as required."

"What is the status of Project Talisman?"

"The test on Talay was successful, although we lost a trooper there," Danson said. "We are ready for wide-spread deployment. Once the world is targeted, Project Talisman will deliver the plague vector and be fully protected against any ground defenses by the Dark Trooper escorts. Dark Troopers are not affected by the plague, but can be affected by rakghouls in sufficient numbers."

Kyle felt a little fist of cold in his chest. "Tenis, what is Project Talisman?"

"A piece of living history," Danson said, sneering slightly. "You'll see more in the secured lab. With the commander's code card."

Kyle reared back. "Stun him, I've lost control," he said.

"You're all going to die," Danson shouted a moment before the blue stun rings hit him.

Kyle laid back on the floor, recovering not just from his injuries, but the strain of overcoming the man's mind, even only temporarily. Jan knelt nearby, looking down at him in concern. "What'd he mean?"

"Well, at a guess, I'd say he meant something was going to kill us," he said.

Team One all chuckled. It was such a typical Katarn response. Kylisms, they were coming to be known.

"Smart ass," Jan said. She helped Kyle to his feet. "Well, do we look in the lab?"

"Not yet," Kyle said. "Danson said that after he slipped out of my control. He wanted us to go in there, and that means it's a nasty surprise. Let's raid all data first and get ready to clear out."

After they used the key code to access all the computer data and dumped it in mass into their crystals, Jan found out why Danson wanted them to enter the secured labs.

On the surveillance cams, they could see a pair of rakghouls in containment chambers, growling and pacing the floors angrily.

"Dark Troopers sounds bad," Jan said as they stared at the monsters, "but Project Talisman sounds terrifying. What if they introduced the plague into a heavily populated world? The last major rakghoul plague was on Taris thousands of years ago, and the world lost almost half its population."

Kyle nodded silently. "I don't know, Jan." He looked down at a man he had gone to school with—a man who would have happily watched him die at the hands of living nightmares.

"No prisoners, no traces," he said. "We have the data we need. All teams evacuate, we'll blow the base from orbit just like Talay."

"Agreed," Jan said.

~~The Lord of Light~~

~~The Lord of Light~~

That was two months ago. Now, with none of the Jabiimi settlements responding, it was beginning to look like Project Talisman was finally deployed in a large scale.

On the bridge of the Alliance corvette _Teelin_, Kyle stood biting his lip and thinking about Talay. Nearby, Captain Tanning clucked. "Well, we've tried every frequency. One thing odd though, is that the Imperial garrison is gone. This was a highly subjugated world, but there is no trace of any Imperial presence."

"Which means the Empire pulled out before it deployed the weapon," Jan said.

"Sir," communications said, "the _Yavin_ has just arrived. We're receiving a signal."

"Put it on, Devins."

A moment later, a hologram of General Airen Cracken appeared. "Colonel Katarn, at last! I've been monitoring your work tracking this thing down and have wanted to see you in action. It thrills me to see you in a uniform."

"Thank you, General," Kyle said. "We don't believe the device is still on the surface, but we're hoping we can find some intelligence to narrow down exactly what it is. But sir, you should know if this is the rakghoul plague, contact with the rakghouls will infect your men."

"I've been researching history since I first read about your Talay mission. I wasn't able to recreate the serum that cures the plague, but I have something almost as good. We're going down there in stormtrooper armor with full environmental isolation settings."

"Smart," Kyle said.

"I thought so too. We're going to be landing near Jabiimabad, the capital city. We're taking the whole ship down in the event we need to evacuate any civilians. I recommend you bring your people over here. Captain Tanning, I want the _Teelin_ to stay in orbit and monitor for any incoming Imperial activity."

"Understood, General," Captain Tanning said.

Half an hour later, Kyle, Jan and his SpecForce team of a hundred soldiers shuttled over to the _Yavin_, a brightly painted Clone Wars-era _Acclamator_-cass frigate. The _Acclamator_ frigates were originally designed to carry an entire invasion force of 16,000 clones and all the assorted attack craft necessary for surface combat. The Alliance did not have personnel to ship around 16,000 men armies.

The thousand men and women in the main assembly area of the ship was, for the Alliance, a significant commitment. It was, Kyle knew, a gesture to the Jabiimi people. The Jabiim rebellion had been fighting the Empire privately for twenty years; it was time for them to join the larger Rebellion.

Airen Cracken proved to be a wide-bodied, wide-faced man with graying hair and a friendly smile. A rebel on his own world who took the fight against the Empire to the stars, Cracken was in his own way a fanatic. He was also an intelligence genius and was already being touted as Vernan's replacement when the old Intelligence chief retired, which he was considering on a daily basis.

"Kyle Katarn, a pleasure," the General said as he shook Kyle's hand. "And the indomitable Jan Ors. Vernan's told me you two are the best commando team he's ever seen."

"Glad you think so," Kyle said. "So, initial direction, sir?"

"We set up a perimeter, and then start reconnaissance in Force. For the duration of this mission you are second in command."

"Thank you, sir."

The old but well-built frigate slid through the turbulent atmosphere of the planet. The pilot brought the hulking thing down with only a little bounce to the landing struts. The massive loading ramp dropped to reveal a landscape of rain and mud.

During the landing Kyle made the rounds of Cracken's army. Most were actually regular army, including still more of Kyle's old storm troopers who greeted their former officer with friendly smiles. He made a quick study of the force shield pylons that they would be using to establish the perimeter around the ship.

As soon as the ramp was down, two dozen speeder bikes shot out into the rain with the pylons. The bikers sank the pylons into the mud every hundred feet in a circle around the base of the entire ship, creating sufficient area underneath the ship itself for the soldiers to assemble and set up camp. As soon as the last pylon was sunk, all the separate pylons extended to fifteen feet high while shooting a stabilizing dart further into the muddy soil, and in a cascade a force shield hummed into existence, panel by panel, between the pylons.

Cracken then unveiled his pet prize—a mint-condition, Clone War era juggernaut tank that was easily fifty-meters long. Kyle walked up to one of the wheels, and did not even come up to a third of its diameter. "Wow," he muttered to Jan. "An old A6. How in the Force did Cracken snag that thing?"

"Rebel requisition," Jan said. "He stole it."

When Cracken meant recon in force, he meant it. Over a hundred of his soldiers packed into the Juggernaut while another five hundred broke into fifty teams of ten for ground recon. "We riding in style?" Jan asked.

Kyle looked at the massive tank for a long time, and then shook his head. "I have a feeling."

"An 'I have a feeling that if I asked Jan on a civvie date she will say yes' feeling, or a 'oh my stars were all going to die screaming' feeling?"

"Yeah, the latter," Kyle said. "Wait, what?"

It was a testament to their relationship that Jan didn't answer. Instead, she looked at the tank herself. "Should we warn Cracken?"

"Warn him about what? That I have a bad feeling?"

"That you're bad feelings are always right?"

"We need to find out what happened, Jan. Ground's the only way to do that. But I want you in armor and armed to the teeth."

"All right." When Kyle spoke like that—a distant earnestness—she learned to listen.


	21. Too Cold To Get Up

A/N: And, as promised, here's the second chapter for the day. Let's see what Harry and the girls have been up to.

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**Part II: Darkest Before the Morn**

**Chapter Twenty-One: Too Cold To Get Up**

Leia woke up surrounded on either side by breasts. On her left were a pair of voluptuous breasts of almost bone-pale skin topped with purple nipples. Looking above the breasts she saw a delicate red horn had punctured the pillow; again.

She turned to the smaller but well shaped pair of pert breasts on her other side and saw a flash of red hair. Mara, then. She looked down at her own breasts and decided that, compared to the women on either side of her, she left something to be desired. Her breasts were neither as shapely as Mara's nor as large as Maris's. Winter's were a good normal size, but were also very shapely, pert, and most importantly, even. It shamed the princess to admit that her breasts were not evenly shaped. Her right breast was slightly, but noticeably larger, than her left.

Without a doubt, of the four wives, she had the worst looking pair of breasts.

She tried not to squeal when a strong hand reached over Mara's hip and very succinctly cupped her naked sex. She looked up over the batch of red hair and saw Harry smiling at her. "You are beautiful," he assured her quietly after sensing her thoughts. He ran his hand slowly up her body until they cupped her left breast nearest him. "You are beautiful just the way you are."

"You say that to all the girls," Leia said.

"And it's all true," he agreed.

A head of white hair lifted above Harry's shoulders, and then moaned. "It's too cold to get up."

"Funny coming from someone named Winter," Mara mumbled without moving.

"So you want to shower first then?" Winter snapped.

"It's too cold," Mara said.

Winter nodded in triumph, and then curled up closer to Harry. Harry squirmed until he was on his back and spread his arms until he was essentially hugging all four of them. "I'm hungry," Maris said.

"Go get something then," Winter suggested.

"Too cold," Maris said. She shivered and then snuggled closer to Leia.

"Watch the horns," Leia warned.

"Sorry." She snuggled even closer.

At first Leia was not sure what to make of sleeping with three other women in the nude. Though she knew that some human females liked other females in a sexual fashion, she was not one of them. She realized she was too competitive to really find another woman sexually attractive. On the opposite side of that was Maris Brood, who because of her personal history was so starved for affection growing up that she would love anyone of the family, in any way, at any time. It took months for Leia to grow accustomed to being hugged by a naked, paled-skinned woman with horns.

And she still felt vague discomfort any time she felt the harsh hair of Maris's sex against her leg.

Mara, like Leia, had no interest in the other wives. This wasn't aversion. It was that all she thought of was Harry. Leia was astounded at how energetic the former Sith was. Chances were, if they were alone and one of the other wives was not already doing so, Mara and Harry were making love: in the fresher; in the closet; on the bed.

Once on the ceiling. That was strange. One time on a bet with Winter, Mara and Harry had sex non-stop for three days, pausing only for food, drink and occasionally showers. And even though they were excused to shower, they coupled there too. Leia would have been insanely jealous, until he offered to do the same with her.

"I have too much to do," she assured him. So she only took a day.

It was a good day.

Winter was the surprising one to Leia. Shortly after the Rebellion moved its main headquarters to Hoth, she walked into their large suite to find Winter and Maris very happily loving each other. Leia's first thought wasn't surprise, but rather confusion over what they actually got out of it. How could they have sex without a penis involved? And yet the two women were obviously enjoying each other and she could feel their pleasure through their bonds.

Winter looked up from between the Zabrak's legs and grinned. "Want to join us?" she asked.

Leia stammered. "Oh, no thank you. Do you where Harry is?"

"With Mara."

"Oh, okay."

That night after dinner Winter convinced Leia to take a walk with her around the base. The two women usually garnered a lot of attention. The fact a living Celestial was on the base was startling enough, but that he had four wives, including a founding member of the Alliance, drove the rumor mongers insane.

"Today made you uncomfortable, didn't it?" Winter asked as they finished looking over the line of AT-ATs. The humongous war machines were recovered during the evacuation from Yavin IV and had come in handy on several occasions. In fact, for all the pain involved for their family, Yavin IV proved to be the greatest triumph the Alliance could have hoped for. They were able to recover hundreds of attack shuttles and drop ships that were left suddenly empty after Harry destroyed their crews.

Leia shook her head, realizing she was distracting herself. "I…I suppose it did. I'm sorry. I have no right to judge you…"

"I never thought you were," Winter said with a sad smile. She looked so perfect among the snow, which was ironic given her utter hatred of cold weather. "You have no idea how much I wanted that to be you."

Leia stumbled. "What?"

"I always loved you, Leia, and not as a sister. We grew up together, and my best friend became an unrequited crush. I saw you going after those so called 'noble' boys. I saw the way you looked at them, and I knew that you would never be what I wanted you to be. But the desire was always there."

"But you married Harry?"

Winter shrugged. "He's the only man I've ever had affection for. You felt it too, you know. I could have resisted, but after a few days I just didn't want to. I guess from an outsider's perspective it sounds awful. Still, this situation is ideal in a way. I've found a lover in Maris. And while we get all the Harry time we want, with each other we leave more time for you and Mara."

"That's true," Leia admitted with a wry smile. "I may have to put a leash on Mara, though. Gods that girl just won't leave him alone."

Winter smiled and put an arm around Leia. "She was raised without any physical affection, the same as Maris. For some people, that leads to a fear of touching. For others, it leads to a need for it. And I don't know if you've noticed, but Harry is for each of us exactly what we need."

Leia noticed that Harry tended to instruct or even lead Maris, while he quizzed Winter and Leia. Mara just went along with whatever the rest of the wives decided, quite often with Harry's penis inside her.

_I need to stop thinking about Harry's penis_, Leia brought her thoughts brought her back to the present. She thought this as Harry very deftly reached over Mara and suckled her breast.

"I really need to stop thinking about your penis," Leia moaned aloud.

"If you don't want it I do," Mara said.

But Harry somehow floated right over Mara, who had rolled onto her stomach, until he laid on Leia, slipping inside her even as his lips moved to her neck.

"That's so beautiful," Maris breathed.

Leia's breath caught as the now blessedly familiar warmth and pleasure blossomed inside of her. She shifted and spread her legs wider to ease his access, no longer caring that her knee was caught firmly between Maris's legs. "That feels so good."

"It always does," Mara whispered. She was watching them with hungry eyes, her hand running up and down Harry's spine. "Me next?"

"Yes," Harry grunted as he sped up. He and Leia finished with a mutual moan before he moved over to make love to Mara, who remained face down and simply lifted her rump for him. Leia lay perfectly still beside them, basking in the glow, until she felt a pair of lips on her other breast and looked down to see a red horn near her chin, and two purple lips suckling her.

"Watch the horns," she said.

"Sorry," Maris said around a handful of nipple.

Leia hated to admit it, but the suckling did feel good, and the way Maris had captured and was now rubbing against her leg did not feel _bad_, not really.

"We'll make a woman out of you yet, Leia," Winter said over Harry as Mara began to moan loudly. That was the other thing about Mara—she was very loud.

They did not all make love every morning, but it was always interesting when they did, because they each made love differently. Leia liked it slow and steady. Mara liked frenzy and passion, like now. The whole bed was shaking and she was almost screaming now in ecstasy and pulling at the covers convulsively until they finally finished.

Mara wilted, flushed as red as her hair with a huge, goofy grin on her young face. By then Harry had moved on. "Doing the full circuit, are we?" Winter asked with one elegantly arched brow. She flipped him over and rode him, preferring always to be on top.

Maris looked up from Leia's nipple, saw the gorgeous form Winter presented as she began to ride Harry, and moaned. "Go ahead," Leia said with a knowing smile.

Maris almost jumped over she and Mara until she was sitting on…oh goodness. Leia shook her head, but each to their own.

Mara, now laying next to them, grinned. "Don't knock it until you try it," she told Leia. "He has talent."

"Oh, I know."

At last Winter finished, grunting as her entire body convulsed under an orgasm so intense all the other wives felt it. She fell back off Harry as Maris took her place, even as the Zabrak leaned over to give Winter a second while accepting her first.

"Bail would never have understood this," Leia whispered.

"And your other father would probably have a heart attack," Mara agreed. "And yet it's the most beautiful thing I've ever known, because I love you all. You're my family."

Maris cried out, loudly. Winter did as well, convulsing again. Harry finished by kissing each of his wives passionately. "So," he said with a happy grin, "who wants to go get breakfast?"

"It's too cold to get up!" all four wives shouted.

Harry snorted. "Fine. You just had sex with me so I would get you food, didn't you?"

"Did it work?" Winter said, still breathless from his and Maris's ministrations.

He chuckled. "It usually does. I'll be back in a bit. Don't get too comfy without me." He hopped off the bed and padded naked through the otherwise icy room to the insulated fresher. Winter and Maris jumped back under the covers and all four snuggled together, made cold by Harry's absence.

"So Leia," Winter said. "Not so bad having a woman's lips on you, is it?"

"It's not bad, but it's not Harry either," Leia said.

"Any love is good love," Maris said. The oldest of them all was smiling with an open, almost innocent look of joy on her face.

Her horns had poked another hole in their long pillow. Fortunately, Harry conjured a new one every night. Maris then sat up, disturbing the comforter as she looked at each of the other three women. Her eyes grew moist as she said, "I love you all so much! I never had a family before. And now I have all of you. Thank you!"

"We love you too, Maris," Mara said. "Now shut up and get back down here. It's cold!"

Rather than be hurt by Mara's grouchy response to Maris's declaration of love, which actually occurred every two weeks or so, Maris merely laughed at the intensity of the emotion she felt, laid back down and pulled the comforter up. She then kissed Mara soundly on the lips. The red head just shrugged it off, neither offended nor enticed by it.

Leia, though, propped herself up a little while staying under the cover, and looked them over as well. "Maris says it all the time, but I feel that way too. After Alderaan, I wondered if I would ever feel like I belong to a family again. With Anakin it's a little dodgy. But with you girls…I do love you. You are my sisters. Thank you for letting me be a part of this."

The other three looked at her for the longest time, before they all snuggled together. Harry emerged from the fresher dressed in casual slacks that seemed not nearly warm enough. Their burgeoning magical skills allowed them to sense the charms he used to warm himself.

"You girls look really comfortable. Are you sure you don't want to come with me, though?"

"Harry, how can we miss you if you don't go away?" Winter said.

"Fine, fine," Harry said, grinning.

"I want caf, Harry. A full carafe, black," Mara said.

"Me too," Leia said.

"Juice please," Maris asked.

"Caf for me too," Winter said. "And a pastry."

"Ohh, that sounds good!" Maris said.

"Eggs," Mara said. "And toast! And caf."

"And a grain muffin and sesti fruit for you, Leia?" Harry asked.

Leia grinned. Though the sex didn't occur every morning, the food ritual did. He knew what they ate better than they did. "Yes, please."

Harry stood at the door. "Okay. Stay warm. I'll be back with food soon."

When he was gone, Mara giggled. "Frak you girls, I love Harry. He brings me caf."

That set off a round laughter, even as they all snuggled closer together to ward off the cold. It was most definitely too cold to get up.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"I wonder why they always sleep so late?" Luke wondered aloud as he, Obi-Wan and Anakin watched Harry saunter into the cafeteria with a happy smile and a whistled song on his lips.

Behind him, Obi-Wan and Anakin shared a long look before both shaking their head.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

The Rebel Alliance, General Rieekan realized one morning, had power. Thanks to the resounding defeat of the Emperor's largest single military unit over Yavin IV, the Alliance proved to the galaxy that the Empire could be fought; that the Emperor was not omnipotent.

That magic was real.

Harry Potter refused to allow the Alliance to use his image in any capacity, and the Executive Council knew better than to argue with him. Dodonna was frankly terrified of the man, and Rieekan respected Dodonna enough to be worried just based on the older General's terror. With their two top generals openly worried, Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis chose not to antagonize the latest and strangest addition to the Alliance High Council.

After all, Potter's needs were relatively few. Quarters for five, clothes and food for his wives. Leia as the adopted daughter of the Viceroy of Alderaan was independently wealthy, since like most Core World leaders Bail had investments off planet that made his sole beneficiary exceedingly rich. So the strange family did not need or accept a salary from the financiers of the Alliance.

Nor did they participate in every battle. When they did, none could argue about their results.

Right now, the Alliance had six _Imperial-I_ class star destroyers to supplement their growing fleet of Mon Calamari star cruisers. They obtained these ships when Harry and his wives boarded them through his strange teleportation method. Just minutes later, the whole crew evacuated the ship on lifepods and Harry's wives Mara Jade Potter and the Lady Ravenclaw (as Winter liked to be known as now), guided it to the nearest Alliance outpost for sufficient skeleton crew to fly it to Alliance space.

He did that a total of six times, one after the other, until Rieekan was forced to admit they just didn't have sufficient people to man any more.

"Okay, then," Harry said with a shrug. "Let me know when you have more people, and I'll get you more ships."

That was two months ago—two months where the man and his wives, which included a former Imperial Sith-trained assassin, a former fallen Jedi Padawan, a former Alliance Intelligence Officer and a princess of Alderaan, seemed perfectly content to remain on the base and train.

That said, the wives still took active roles in the base. Though Mon Mothma was frankly scared of the woman's husband, her admiration of Leia had not changed. Leia essentially became the representative of the Executive Council at the base and handled almost all non-command issues. Lady Ravenclaw continued to work with General Vernan as an intelligence analyst.

His people told him that Mrs. Potter and Maris, Lady Hufflepuff, usually spent the days with Potter in a small hangar working on the Naboo skiff Leia inherited from her father.

Those activities Rieekan could handle. It was the training in the evenings that concerned Rieekan so much.

When they left Yavin and came to Hoth (Yavin had obviously been compromised) Harry walked into one of the unused walls and waved a hand. Rieekan, who had been giving Leia and Mothma a tour at the time, watched as the wall melted away, forming clear icy passages into the heart of the glacier, until he reached solid rock. Using the rock as one wall, he continued to move his hands, almost as if he were dancing, and the ice melted away and crystallized into a clear material that looked and felt almost like glass, except it had the tensile strength of transparisteel. The floor turned into a mesh of bouncy mats, and in a matter of minutes Potter had carved out a training center for the Alliance's small Jedi population, and its newly formed Mage population.

It became the warmest chamber in the base, and the only one that never melted or cracked.

Occasionally Rieekan made his way to the chamber and was always astounded by what he saw. That particular morning one year into their stay on Hoth was no exception. He entered the room to see the four women jabbing their 'wands' at a line of black stone that had appeared from nowhere and shouting strange words in a language neither he nor anyone in the galaxy had ever heard before.

The results were startling—red bolts of light flashed through the air like blasters with similar results, pulverizing the stone wall. Potter waved a hand and the wall reformed, and the four women did the same again. "Excellent!" he said. "Now, shield charms. Pair off, please!"

They did so. The Zabrak girl against Win…Lady Ravenclaw, the red-headed assassin against the princess. One side shot the same destructive energy that destroyed the wall, while the other generated a shimmering shield that deflected the spell.

In a far corner of the room, two Jedi masters were training their newest initiate in the ways of the Force. Compared to the mages, their flying gracefully through the air seemed comforting and familiar. So it was to them he walked.

Rieekan knew on some level that Anakin Skywalker was Darth Vader. But it was hard to reconcile that knowledge with his emotional response to the man he now approached. He remembered Anakin as a heroic figure from the Clone Wars. And seeing how effective Anakin was in the Battle of Deepspace Besh, flying an X-wing beside his son as if born to it, added to the fact he turned a mercenary named Kyle Katarn into a Force-sensitive one-man wrecking machine, Carlist wondered if Vader was simply one more shadow from the past that was quickly being burned away by the brilliance of the present and the hope of the future.

"Master Kenobi, Master Skywalker, how are you this morning?" Rieekan asked.

The two turned and nodded greeting to the general. "We're well, Carlist," Obi-Wan said. "What brings you to the madhouse today?"

Across the floor, Leia suddenly shot high into the domed cavern, screaming as she did so. "Mara!"

"All's fair in dueling!" came the sharp retort.

"Should I be worried?" Rieekan asked when Leia fell twenty feet only to bounce back to her feet and shoot a flurry of magic at the red head, who bounded gracefully away.

"Evidently when Mages fall, they bounce," Anakin said wryly. "So what can we do for you?"

"Last week, we sent an expedition to Jabiim. We'd lost contact not just with our liaison there, but with the whole planet. The expedition consisted of an old _Acclamator_-class frigate, a _Nebulon-B_ frigate, a thousand troops, and another hundred SpecForce personnel under special detached command. Your apprentice Kyle Katarn's unit was included. We've completely lost contact with the expedition as well."

Skywalker's face darkened and Obi-Wan looked pensive.

Rieekan, a veteran of the Clone Wars, nodded to himself. "You were there during the first battle, weren't you?"

"As a padawan," Anakin said grimly. "Every Jedi on the planet—27 knights and padawans—died save for me. If I'd known why Palpatine ordered me to evacuate, I would have stayed to die as well. We ended up abandoning the Republic loyalists, and when the Clone Wars ended the Emperor invaded them again. It was nothing more than a trap to kill Jedi."

"Now it is a source of important minerals, and we've lost contact with them," Rieekan said. "If we could woo those miners away from the Empire, it would mean a great deal to the Alliance."

"You want us to have a look, then?" Obi-Wan said.

"Yes," Rieekan said.

"That sounds like fun, when do we leave?"

Rieekan almost jumped. Harry Potter stood directly behind him sipping a cup of Blue Fizz. "Please don't do that!" the general asked.

"Okay," Harry said with a shrug. "So, Jabiim, that was the muddy cesspit where you lost your first girlfriend, right Anakin?"

The former Sith Lord took a long breath before releasing it in a sigh. "You have no pity, do you?"

Harry studied the man. "Only when I think about it; I wasn't then. I am sorry. I saw her face in your memories, but not the name."

"Her name was Aubrey Wyn, and she was not my girlfriend. Just a talented young padawan whom I admired, and who had a bright future that was cut down along with all the rest."

"So, you want to see what your daughter can do?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Now?" Anakin asked. "What does that have to do with Jabiim?"

"Leia, sweetie, Daddy wants to see your divination skills."

Leia rolled her eyes. "So I'm sweetie now?"

"I'm thinking about calling all of you sweetie, that way you don't have an excuse to hurt me if I get a name mixed up."

"You called me Ashala," Leia pointed out with a frown.

"Sorry, a former Slytherin wife. Some minor similarities—she was a princess, a warrior, a politician and a brunette. But you have much prettier eyes."

He saw from her face that she wasn't buying it. "Okay, how 'bout this. I'm very old. I'm going to slip once in a while." He batted his eyes in an outrageous attempt to get her to smile, which worked because it was so very outrageous.

"Fine. What am I doing?"

"We've lost all contact with our expedition to Jabiim," Rieekan said, more comfortable with the princess than her husband.

"Your father fought a hard battle there as a padawan," Harry added. "Look into his eyes and see, like we practiced." To Anakin he said, "Let her see your memories of the battle, Anakin. I know it will be difficult, but it will give her the grounding she needs."

"Can you do this?" Kenobi asked to the elder mage.

"Interestingly enough, not a whit," Harry said. "I've always been bollocks at any type of divination, other than through arithmancy and scrying. All I can see is my death; and after a few tens of thousands of those, it just gets kind of boring."

Leia, meanwhile, found herself staring into the deep blue eyes of her father. Both felt a falling sensation before they found themselves on the muddy plains of the torrential world, surrounded by one of the most vicious and devastating battles of the Clone Wars. From there, Leia concentrated using the meditation technique Harry taught her but could not do himself, and time began to speed up around them.

"This is amazing." Leia was startled when she heard her father's voice and turned to see him standing beside her, looking around with a sad frown. "Whatever innocence I had, I lost here."

"I'm sorry." Hesitantly, since touching him still felt odd, she took his hand. He looked at her first in surprise, then in gratitude as Leia harnessed her new-found magical ability and cast them into the present.

They stood on the edge of a building looking over a city. It was raining, as it always did on Jabiim. A person ran through a deserted street. Then another and another, until the trickle became a flood. They were not rioting or protesting. Their faces were set in expressions of primal terror, and screams filled the air. On the hind end came a horde of nightmares—monsters vaguely humanoid in shape with massive fang-filled jaw. The monsters laid into the people viciously, biting and slashing. Those who did not die screamed in agony as they slowly transformed into another of the monsters.

The whole planet thrummed with the darkest and most terrible magic.

"Ahhh!" Leia screamed, jerking away from her father. Harry's arms wrapped around her shoulder, and she felt other hands on her shoulders as her sister wives comforted her. Anakin looked as if he were sick.

"What did you see?" Rieekan said, frightened.

"Monsters," Leia said. "Killing the population. Rakghouls."

Obi-Wan started as if struck. "A Rakghul plague? How can that be? There hasn't been an outbreak since the Jedi Civil War almost four thousand years ago."

Anakin, though, looked ill. "He found it."

The rest of them fell silent as all eyes turned to Anakin. It was Harry who said, "Found what?"

"A Sith talisman of incredible power. The wielder has the power to turn those around them into rakghouls. The only time I ever saw it was on a fallen Jedi twenty years ago. I thought it lost, but the Emperor must have found it."

"Then we're definitely going," Harry said. "Dark Magic has never been something I could tolerate."


	22. Memories Suck

A/N-Review responses are available in my forums.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Memories Suck**

Anakin Skywalker, once known as Darth Vader, fought hard against a swell of painful memory. His life, he realized, was measured by differing levels of trauma. First came leaving his mother with Qui-Gon, only to lose Qui-Gon to a Sith. Then came the death of his mother and his slaughter of the Tusken Raiders who killed and tortured her.

Then came the Second Battle of Jabiim.

Anakin was nineteen years old, newly married to Padme, and fourteen months into the war that would see everything in his life that he cherished end.

Jabim, aside from being a festering mudhole, also happened to possess a wealth of minerals and other natural resources that the Republic was unwilling to let fall into Confederacy hands. But the leader of Jabiim, Alto Stratus, and Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress mounted a brilliant defense against Obi-Wan's attack.

The battle seemed successful at first, with Obi-Wan punching through several lines of seemingly weak defenses. Until, that is, Ventress launched her trap. Obi-Wan was captured and, Anakin believed at the time, dead. Jedi and Clone Troopers faced a suddenly stiff and even overwhelming defense while the foul weather interfered with communications and air support. Their first generation walkers got stuck in the muddy fields, and they were quickly reduced to small arms combat against an enemy force that was intimately familiar with the soggy terrain.

First Jedi Master Norcuna was killed, followed shortly thereafter by Master Leska, leaving Anakin as the senior most of nine Padawans in command of a few squads of surviving Clone Troopers. They retreated to the last Republic base, Cobalt Station, to wait for reinforcements that did not come until it was too late.

The nine padawans and remaining troopers held off an army of over 10,000 soldiers for five days. During those five days, Anakin realized that he had slowly fallen in love with Aubrey Wyn. It was not a romantic love—his heart belonged solely to Padme in that regard. But rather he assumed a brotherly relationship with her, wanting to protect the beautiful, talented young padawan.

But of course war knew no mercy. Chancellor Palpatine personally ordered Anakin to return to Coruscant. He left the pack, including Aubrey, knowing that he would never see them again. He found out when he returned to lead the evacuation that Aubrey was the last to die—that she had killed the Separatist commander herself, but lost her life in the process.

Anakin did not cry when he heard of her death. In fact, he wondered if he could ever cry again. He led the evacuation of Republic Forces and never said a word to Padme, though he knew she sensed something in him had changed. How could he tell his young wife that he was mourning another young woman he had developed feelings for, even if they were only fraternal?

The Jabiim loyalists he had to abandon in favor of his troopers suffered under the CIS for the remainder of the war, only to then be invaded by the Empire. Anakin's name was cursed by the survivors, just as Anakin cursed the world itself.

He looked up to see Harry in his doorway. "I may look like a kid," he said by way of greeting, which was true enough, "but I've been through more than one Jabiim myself. And I didn't always survive. I am a git, and made light of something I shouldn't have. That wasn't Dark Codpiece on that planet, just a kid who lost his master and a friend. If you want to stay, I'll understand."

"Thank you," Anakin said. "But I am the only here who has actually faced rakghouls and the talisman before. You will need me with you."

"Yeah, probably so." The seemingly young man with the ancient eyes walked in and took a look around the Spartan quarters Anakin kept. It was the first time since they arrived at Hoth that he had done so. "How's Luke coming along?"

"Quickly," Anakin admitted with a touch of pride. "He is naturally powerful in the Force. He has already reached the level of a padawan in the temple and continues to excel. He is more powerful even than Katarn."

"Any luck on getting him a girlfriend?"

"Sadly, he appears to be very shy."

Harry snorted. "He has the hots for Mara and it's keeping him from moving on."

"Does she reciprocate?"

"No. Part of the bond we share links all of us together emotionally. Because of her link to Leia, Luke is not just Leia's brother, he is Mara's brother. She cares for him as if he were a younger brother, even though he is actually older. Well, not any more, technically. Mara and I have been playing with time a bit to get my project ready."

This casual admission of time manipulation was one of the many things that left Anakin constantly flabbergasted around this strange man. "What special project?"

"I wanted to fix up that Naboo skiff from your wife," he said. "For the family, you know? When the war is over we'll want to go exploring and I wanted a ship to do it in. It's all done now."

"When have you had time to do that, though?" Anakin said. "You've only been alive for a year now."

"Exactly, not enough time. So now Mara is technically the same age as Leia."

When he didn't bother to explain, Anakin rolled his eyes and stood to collect his wet-weather gear for the mission. "So we're ready to go then?"

"Yep. I asked Obi-Wan to stay."

"Yes, to begin training a new potential. And I understand a few hidden survivors emerged. A padawan named Qu Rahn came forward and asked to complete his training."

"And Drake Lo'gaan?" Harry asked.

Anakin blinked. "I should not be surprised you know. Yes, he, his wife Ekria and their daughter Jekria arrived a week ago asking to complete their training. We sent them to Master Yoda back on Dagobah. We've also received word that Ferus Olin survived and has joined an Alliance cell near Hantooine. There are others no doubt, but unfortunately many others fell to the Dark Side and were recruited by the Inquisitorius."

The two stepped out of the chambers and into the icy corridor. Rebel soldiers stopped and stood to one side to let the two legends pass. Not everyone knew that Anakin Skywalker was once Darth Vader, but the name Anakin Skywalker was still legendary from the Clone Wars.

"How old is Jekria?"

"She is seventeen," Vader said. "Lo'gaan and Ekria did not wait long to have a child together."

Harry shrugged. "The only reason you're not a grandfather is because if wouldn't be safe to have Leia with child."

Anakin suddenly choked on spit and had to stop to regain his breath. "Any who," Harry continued, "just thinking about them. I caught a glimpse of the Lo'gaan family as they were leaving for Dagobah. That girl is very, very cute. Absolutely love that blue hair."

"A fifth wife, perhaps?" Anakin said.

"For me? No, I could tell looking at her that she was a Hufflepuff, and I already have Maris. No, I was thinking about Luke."

"Luke is twenty years old. He is too old for her."

Harry kindly refused to point out the hypocrosiy in Anakin's willingness for Harry, who was two million years old, to woo the teenager, but not his twenty-year-old son. Nor did he point out the age difference between Anakin and his wife. Some things were too sensitive even for Harry to make light of.

"Luke is a shy bumbling virgin when he's not leading a squadron of fighters, and you know it," he shot back. "And I could tell at a glance that Jekria wasn't shy or bumbling. She's just what Luke needs. Plus she's fairly strong power-wise. When I start eliminating your midi-chlorians and turning all the Jedi into mages, that'll be a good thing."

Anakin stumbled again. "What?"

"Just thoughts for the future."

"We'll see," Anakin said worriedly. He then noticed where they were going. "Why are we going to the training chamber?"

"It's a surprise."

The surprise, as it happened, was another stab at Anakin's memories.

When Harry mentioned Anakin's wife's ship, he didn't realize he was talking about the same Naboo skiff that Padméflew to Mustafar on that dark damnable day. But there it was, shimmering silver under the crystalline walls of Harry's training room.

"We call her the _Amidala_," Harry said. For once he sounded neither sarcastic nor cynical. "It seemed appropriate since it is Leia's ship. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't," Anakin managed to say. His eyes were already pouring over the painfully familiar ship, and he very quickly saw the modifications. Specifically the large weapons mount that now ran down the center of the belly of the ship to end in what looked like a weapon just under the nose.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Phased particle cannon," Harry said. "You don't need more than one of those."

"I've never heard the term."

"Nope, I'm sure you haven't."

As they approached Luke ran down the ramp with an awe-struck look on his face. "Father!" he said, making Anakin smile. Though Leia still hesitated to use the word around him, Luke had accepted him into the boy's life without hesitation. "This ship is incredible! It holds over a hundred concussion missiles!"

Anakin blinked. "That's not even physically possible on a ship this size."

"Shrinking charms," Harry said with a shrug. "And not all of them are missiles. I tinkered and made a few variable-yield antimatter photon torps too. For those days when a hundred gigatons is just not enough."

Again, no explanation of what an "antimatter photon" torpedo was coming. They walked up the ramp and into an interior that looked more like a rustic living area than the interior of a ship. The walls looked almost like wood and brick, and one wall had a window that actually showed a scene of Alderaan. Moreover, there was at least fifty times the volume of space within the ship than the exterior allowed for.

"Magic," he muttered.

"Yep," Harry said happily. "This ship is not a warship to be lived on. It's a home to go to war in."

Leia emerged from a hall that presumably led to the cockpit. "Did you tell him sorry?" she asked Harry.

"I did," he said. He looked back at Anakin. "I did, right?"

"Yes. It was actually a very nice apology."

"Good," Leia said. She then kissed Harry so hard the air shimmered. After she stepped up and hugged Anakin. "I didn't see much, but I saw enough to know what that meant to you. I'm sorry as well."

"Thank you," Anakin said, fighting not to let his lip tremble. "It means more to me than you could imagine to be here with you and your brother."

She smiled brilliantly at him. "Well, let's have the tour then. This is the sitting room." She led them through a hallway while Harry disappeared somewhere else. "To the right is the swimming pool."

"Swimming pool?" Anakin asked. "On a skiff?" He looked through into a massive Gymnasium just as large as the ship itself filled with a large pool of water. Luke stared at it longingly.

"Through there is the training room." Another gymnasium, equally large.

"Here is where you can stay, Father."

The room was a complete, well appointed suite with a soft king-sized bed, end tables, a holosuite and a luxuriously appointed fresher. "Luke, you're across the hall." Luke's bedroom was just as spacious.

"And then here's the master suite."

Both Luke and Anakin noticed the bed taking up the center of the room. It was easily eight feet wide and rounded, with a veritable wall of pillows. Though they could not see it all, through one door they saw a bath large enough to seat eight.

"Leia," Anakin asked carefully, "I know I have no right to act the part of protective father, but are you happy in this marriage of yours?"

The question seemed to startle her for a moment. She turned and saw her father and brother, both of whom she'd known for only one year, staring at her with open expressions of concern. Rather than be upset, the concern made her smile.

"Let me ask you a question," she said gently. "Was there any one moment with our mother that stands out as the happiest moment of your life?"

"The day we wed," he said. "She was so beautiful. The recording Artoo took did not do her justice."

Leia stepped to her father and placed a hand on his chest. "Now, imagine that feeling, that moment of pure happiness, and then imagine feeling it every minute of every day. When Harry touches me, even if it's just a gentle pat or a hug, I feel that happiness. The bonds we share defy all description. I love Harry. I love Winter, Maris, and even Mara. I have never once felt deprived for being just one of four wives, because Harry would never allow that to happen. He can feel what we need, and he gives of himself without asking. I'm not just happy, father. I'm ecstatic."

"And pretty damned sexy, too," a new voice said. Luke and Anakin turned to watch Winter saunter into the room in an alluring white suit and cape. She wore a large emerald hanging from a platinum chain around her neck. "So, how do you like the ship?"

"It's magical," Anakin said dryly.

Winter laughed aloud. "You have no idea. Harry just showed it to us for the first time last night. We're moving in permanently now that we've all learned how to apparate. Meanwhile, we're about to take off if you want to come to the cockpit. It and the service corridors below us are the only parts of the ship that look like a ship."

The four of them made their way to the spacious cockpit of the _Amidala_. Anakin looked at the cockpit in confusion. "That's not a standard layout," he noted.

"Nope," Harry said from the pilot's seat. Mara took the co-pilot's seat, while Leia and Winter each took stations on either side of the space. With nowhere else to sit, Anakin and Luke took seats near the rear.

The ship hummed to life. "And that's not a standard power system," Anakin added.

"Nope."

Anakin blinked. "Where were you keeping the ship?"

"Oh, I kept it in my quarters when I wasn't working on it," Harry said. "I've warded everything so that magic doesn't play havoc with it. So when we weren't working on it, I shrank it. She's as close to a true Mage Ship from my old galaxy as I could get here. She's a beauty, isn't she?"

"I knew they couldn't be spending all their time having sex," Winter muttered.

"Well, not all the time," Mara threw over her shoulder with a wink.

In the back, Luke turned pink. "Leia," Mara said, noting the expression, "you need to get your brother a girlfriend."

"What about that cute Zeltron girl, Danni?" Maris asked brightly. "She certainly has a crush on him."

"She'd do him pretty much anywhere he asked," Harry agreed.

"Harry!" Leia said. "That's not nice. How could you know that without looking into her mind?"

"Because she said she'd do him, pretty much anywhere he asked," Harry said. "Right in front of Luke's squadron. The guys are still asking if he's done her yet."

"Would you please stop?" Luke begged.

"Really, Luke, you need some action," Mara said over her shoulder. "Even Obi-Wan gets more than you."

"Leave your brother alone, Leia," Anakin said, playing the father card, "He'll find the right girl when he's ready."

"Right," Harry said. "I still am voting for the blue-haired girl they just shipped off to Dagobah."

Maris clapped. "Ohh, yeah. Jekria, right? She was gorgeous. And so nice. We only got to talk to a minute but I love her already."

Harry looked over his shoulder at Anakin as if to say, "See?"

Luke meanwhile looked sick.

"Everyone strapped in?" Mara said.

"We're ready," Maris said.

Harry flicked a switch. "Control, this is the _Amidala_ requesting permission to take off."

"_Amidala,_ this is control. Who are you and where is your ship located?" came the irritated response.

"Oh, it's Potter, his lovely wives, a Jedi and a virgin. I'm in the middle of the base and about to blast off. Don't shoot me."

In the back, Luke was now covering his face. "I still say Danni," Winter muttered. "She'd do him in a minute."

"Longer than that, I hope," Leia said.

Luke moaned.

All conversation stopped when the icy dome over their heads disappeared. It did not explode or slide back, it simply faded away. The ship took on a strange, unfamiliar hum and then lifted into the sky without any sense of motion. "Here we go," Harry said.

Suddenly the interior of the ship seemed to stretch about them, only to snap back with a sudden "pop". They were no longer in the atmosphere, but in fact already beyond the outer asteroid belt of the Hoth System.

"What the hell was that?" Anakin said, both terrified and enthralled.

"Jump drive. This lady has three means of propulsion. Jump drive for atmospheric jumps and tactical situations, transwarp drive for quick inter-system travel, and a modified true hyperdrive system. Plus the good old fusion-powered vectored thrusters."

"I've not even heard of jump or transwarp drives," Anakin said. He sounded faintly accusing.

"This galaxy took a different path to faster than light travel than mine," Harry said. "You found hyperdrive early on, which is fast but inefficient and requires an intimate mapping of space to be safe, hence you stay on known routes. Transwarp speed is slower than hyperspace, but can go anywhere safely. Jump drives aren't quite as safe, but have some serious tactical advantages for short-distance travel. And true hyperspace, well, you'll see."

He pulled a lever, the sky outside turned white and then fell into a blue tunnel. Not a minute later Harry shoved the controller forward and they came back out of the tunnel in a very fast approach to…Jabiim.

"The trip should have taken two days," Anakin said in awe.

"Yes, yes it should have," Harry said smugly.

"Are you going to share this technology?" Luke asked.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because the Emperor would get it and use it to blow up planets, murder whole civilizations, and kill puppies. The planets and civilizations I could live with—but I will never allow anyone to harm a puppy."

They did not know what puppies were, but the message was clear enough. Harry was already looking at a scan of the city. "That is one butt-ugly planet."

"Yes," Anakin agreed. "It was thirty years ago as well. Any sign of the _Yavin_ or th _Teelin_?"

"Well, I see the _Yavin _on the ground," Harry said as he stared at his sensor suite. "But the Teelin was suppose to…nope, there it is. What's left of it."

He put up a three dimensional image in the air that was not a hologram, and yet had the same depth perception as any three dimensional image seen in real life. The image showed a line of blackened mud just outside the city, and a huge crater with the jutting fuselage of a fallen ship.

"What the hell happened down there?" Anakin asked.

"Monsters," Harry said, darkly. "Okay, I'm taking us down. Everyone hang on."

The cockpit elongated, the world outside turned white, and suddenly they were descending through a turbulent atmosphere toward what looked like a long-abandoned city. "Let's do a fly over," Winter suggested.

They brought the _Amidala_ in low, just hovering a few hundred feet over the tallest buildings in the low-built, squat city. There were no signs of power, and the streets appeared to be abandoned. However, the whole surface almost projected desolation and despair.

Darkness and death.

"I found the SpecForce command channel," Winter said from her station. She entered the coded frequency. "Attention, this is the Alliance vessel _Amidala_ to any survivors on Jabiim. If you can hear me, please respond."

"I can hear you," came a gruff, tired voice. "Winter, that you?"

Around the cockpit, people wilted in relief. "It's me, Kyle. What's your status?"

"Not good," Kyle said. "I have about forty commandos left, and around four hundred civilians. We're trapped in a tower in the north-east quadrant of the city near the space port. Unfortunately, there is no hoverpad and the base is armored. The civvies got in through a cross-walk which they blew right after. My people and I got up on a make-shift bridge I had to blow again as well."

"What's the tower look like?" Winter asked.

"Easy. It's the one surrounded by ten thousand rakghouls."


	23. When Harry Met Kyle

Chapter 22 Review Responses are available in my forum. Thanks

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**Chapter Twenty-Three: When Harry Met Kyle**

On the surface the expedition force looked very inspiring. Airen Cracken's Juggernaught tank was so large that Kyle did not even reach above the ground-side tread, much less the wheel itself. It required a turbolift to get people into it.

Evidently the general had done his homework on Jabiim. Those massive wheels plowed through the muddy fields surrounding the _Yavin_ with little difficulty. The troops, unfortunately, had a harder time. Eventually they formed two columns and followed the compacted tracks of the tank out of the field and into the city proper.

Cracken landed on the opposite side of the city from the space port with the intent to sweep through the city for any survivors, before doing the recon of the port itself for intel regarding how Project Talisman was being delivered.

On the surface, that too seemed like a good idea, except for the nagging feeling Kyle had. It was the same exact feeling he had before Talay, only now he had enough training to recognize it as a Force premonition.

Everyone was in stormtrooper armor, but Kyle's people wore green scout trooper armor to help them coordinate their own command better. One they reached the outskirts of the city, just over a rise from the field where they landed, the expedition force sped up to a brisk jog.

The horror started almost immediately when Team 28 reported injured civilians approaching. A moment later, all that team's people were screaming, and then silence. On the Juggernaut, the team controller reported that Team 28 lifesigns had gone flat.

Kyle activated his comlink. "All teams, listen up. This is Katarn. The rakghoul plague spreads through almost any contact. If a civilian appears to be injured in any way, there is a good chance they are infected. Do not let them enter your secure area. If you see any black fluid around their faces, shoot to kill. If their mouths are bigger than your head, shoot to kill!"

His signal was interrupted by screams from Team 13. Every trooper there could hear bestial growls through the link.

"Damn it, this isn't working," Kyle muttered. "All teams, form up around the tank, on the double!"

His own teams started to respond. His HUD flashed red again as team 41 flashed out so fast they did not even have time to scream. Thirty soldiers were dead in the first two minutes. Other teams appeared from side streets, running until they saw the juggernaut, and then visibly relaxing.

The street seemed narrower for some reason as they came into a district with taller buildings. There was no sign of combat on the buildings, but the streets were littered with debris and bodies. "We're heading toward the spaceport," Kyle told everyone. "We're looking for data on how the plague was introduced to the populace. This is no longer a rescue mission. Team captains, click acknowledgement."

The acknowledgments came through quickly—no one wanted to stay on the nightmare world any longer than necessary. They made it no more than five clicks from the _Yavin_ perimeter when every soldier heard a loud thud. All eyes turned and saw with horror a monster standing atop the tank.

"Mobile command you have a target on your hull. Seal up all hatches now!" Kyle shouted.

It was too late. Through luck or lingering malignant intelligence, the rakghoul managed to pry open a hatch in the back troop area. When the hatch opened, all hell exploded over them.

The sounds of animal rage filled the streets as rakghouls came pouring out of every street, and jumping from every rooftop. The first rakghoul on the tank was blown off by its point defense guns, but twenty more quickly followed and poured inside to the hundred troopers who were essentially trapped inside a giant, rolling tin can. More followed the initial twenty, soon flooding the huge tank.

"Oh Force," Kyle breathed, feeling the soldiers die with his fledgling power. "That's it, pull back to base on me. Defensive lines, fire on everything that moves!"

Even as he issued the order, though, Kyle realized it was too late. His SpecForce team responded, forming up around him in a circle that covered all angles, and immediately started firing. But the regular army teams were panicking; those that were not killed in the initial rush, anyway.

"Running is good!" Jan said urgently, her voice tight with terror. Kyle scanned his HUD. "Team ten, get over here! Team twelve, now! All team members, collapse on me. We're leaving!"

Some of the teams closest to the juggernaut survived the initial rush of rakghouls and now ran for all they were worth. At first the monsters lingered over the fallen soldiers, feeding, but there were so many of the beasts that many followed.

Kyle and his people fired away, killing dozens of creatures while hundreds more followed. The straggling soldiers fell, their expressions of terror hidden behind their cold storm trooper helmets. But their screams were all too loud.

More and more rakghouls came out of the surrounding buildings, loping like deformed caricatures of normal animals. "Back perimeter, arm and drop your detonators!" Kyle ordered.

The twenty SpecForce members making up the back line did as instructed. They didn't throw the detonators, they simply armed them, dropped them and ran. The rakghouls were so close that by the time the detonators exploded ten seconds later, it caught the first wave.

It slowed the others down not out of concern, but because those not hurt fed on those that were. But there were still so many, numbering in the thousands now, that it was only a second's respite.

"How far?" Kyle asked.

"One more klick," Jan said. "We should reach the top of the hill in a minute." She, like the rest, was panting in a combination of physical stress and mental terror. But still she kept her voice even.

Blaster fire rang out almost continuously now, cutting the beasts down but not in sufficient numbers to stop them. Their only hope was to make to the secure perimeter.

They cleared crest of the hill leading down to the _Yavin_ and paused; Kyle's stomach clenched into a tight fist. The clearing was filled with rakghouls; thousands of rakghouls. And the perimeter field was simply gone.

"Oh poodoo," Jan muttered.

"Break left, break left!" Kyle screamed. He turned and ran for all he was worth along the edge of the hill. The mud grew thinner as exposed rock rose under their feet. The rising rock also led to the hill becoming steeper and steeper, until it formed a cliff just to their right.

Additional cover, Kyle thought.

Now able to concentrate just on three sides, Kyle collapsed his people further and continued moving and fighting along the cliff's edge. In the distance, the air thundered with the sound of hungry monsters.

"Kyle, I don't think we're going to get out of this," Jan said. The terror was there again, a primordial fear that he could not fault at all; he was terrified as well. But hearing that tone in her voice made him mad. More than made, it made him furious.

"We are going to make it!" he shouted. "We are. All of you, we are going to get through this. Even if we have to kill ever damned beast on this planet. Don't any of you dare give up on me!"

The sun was growing dim as it approached a cloud-heavy horizon. He did not want to be caught out in the dark.

The fight continued non-stop. Exhaustion pulled at their legs as they trudged through the mud. The mud slowed the rakghouls down as well, but not enough. The only thing that stopped them was bodies—many paused to eat their own kind. And bodies Kyle delivered, he and his people. He tried not to think about the glimmer of white armor that was left behind with each step, or the occasionally more somber green armor of one of his SpecForce men.

They continued to move, sticking to the cliff as they circumnavigated the city. In Kyle's mind, the spaceport became their only hope. Whether it was the Force or just his imagination, he held out the space port as a place of possible refuge.

Men continued to die, screaming as they fell. Kyle witnessed two actually shoot themselves when they realized they did not have the energy to keep going. He did not blame them—a quick death was a mercy.

"Kyle, a mining sled!" Jan pointed out.

He glanced away from the lines long enough to see her pointing at a large hover vehicle mired in the mud. The vehicle was designed to transport mineral ore from the mine to the processing plant on the edge of town. It was easily large enough to hold several hundred.

"Listen up, I need everyone for form against the sled there!" Kyle said. "Hold the line no matter the cost!"

Jan was already scrambling up the side of the crazily tilted sled into the control cabin. He watched her, and when he felt a stir of warning, launched himself into the air with all the Force-borne power he could. He flew up onto the cabin where Jan was working frantically to get the vehicle active, and slashed out with his lightsaber just as a rakghoul climbed up the opposite end.

Below him, more rakghouls gathered to climb over the far side of the sled.

"I got it!" Jan roared.

It took all Kyle's training and agility to stay on his feet as the sled suddenly righted itself in the mood. "Everyone up the ladders now!" Kyle screamed. He threw the last of his detonators into the lines of rakghouls and bought his men a few precious minutes. It was not enough for all—he saw at least thirty regulars and ten of his SpecForce people fall before the rakghouls.

It was too late for them. "Jan, go!" Kyle shouted.

The sled surged forward, throwing the clinging rakghouls loose and almost throwing the soldiers from the bed. In seconds, the sled was flying over the muddy plain faster than any rakghoul could go. Kyle took a moment to survey his men. Some of the veterans were already passed out, catching what rest they could. A few were shaking from the horror of it. All were covered in mud, blood and worse.

But they were alive.

He slipped into the control cabin. "You see the light?"

"Yep," she said. Her voice dripped exhaustion, just like the others.

"Jan?"

"Yeah?"

"When we get out of this, I want to buy you dinner. Not a working dinner, either. I'd like you to wear a nice dress, I'll wear that silly uniform they gave me, and I would like to treat you like the lady you are. Okay?"

"Sounds nice, Kyle," Jan said, smiling sadly. He could see in her eyes that she did not think they were going to get out.

He made sure the course for the sled was set, removed his muddy helmet, gently removed hers, and then kissed her. He kissed her like he'd been wanting to kiss her since AX-456. "We're going to make it," he said intensely, "because I want to see you in a nice dress. And then I want to see you out of it."

"A bit forward, aren't you?" she asked, teasing despite everything.

"For you, yes."

She gave one dry sob, then nodded resolutely. "If we get out of this, Kyle Katarn, I will frak you till you're blue."

He grinned and couldn't help the surge of adrenaline he felt. "Well hell Jan, now we're sure to get out of this."

He kissed her one more time, slipped her helmet back on, and then did the same.

They reached the tower in no time, and saw why the lights had survived—apparently the tower next to the spaceport had its own independent power source, and was heavily armored around the base with only one heavily sealed entry point. The primary point of entry appeared to have been a skywalk that now lay in tatters across the open space between the tower and the spaceport dome.

"How much lift does this baby have?" Kyle asked.

"Enough," Jan said with a grin.

With that, Kyle slipped out the window to the bed of the sled. "Everyone up!"

With varying levels of energy, the survivors got up. "I need an injury report now. Look at the man beside you and check his armor for any punctures or injuries. Do so now."

Of the two hundred survivors, only one man, a regular army trooper, bore any open wounds. Kyle walked across the sled to the man and as he did so, he could feel the black twisting in the Force around him as the scratch on the young man's neck oozed pus and blood.

"What's your name, son?" he said.

"Corporal Tennison, Sir!" the young man said in an exhausted, pained voice.

"Corporal, you've got the plague," Kyle said. "From what I saw on Talay, it's going to hurt like hell, and then you're going to turn into a monster and we're going to vape you. I'm sorry to give you the bad news, kid. I really am. Do you have any family?"

"Family all died on Toprawa, sir!"

"I was on Toprawa, it was a bad situation," Kyle agreed. "Anyone you want me to get your affects to?"

The young man was crying now. "No, sir. Just, don't let me turn into one of those things."

"I won't son." Kyle lifted his blaster and shot Corporal Tennison through the face-plate at point blank range. The young man's body flew off the sled and slammed into the mud, bouncing twice with the momentum of the sled.

Kyle turned to face the stunned, defeated troops.

"We're almost to shelter. I don't know for sure what's waiting for us, but I saw lights, so we have hope. The Alliance knows we're here and will no doubt send someone to find out what's going on. We just need to stay alive. But I'll tell you this—I just shot a young man who was on our side to save us all. If you have a bite or a scratch from one of those things, then do us a favor and jump off this sled now, or just shoot yourself. Because I'm not sure I can do that again. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" came the thunderous response of the survivors.

The sled began to slow as they approached the tower. The vehicle slowly rose into the air as it coasted on momentum, until the bed became nearly even with the shattered base of the skywalk.

Kyle was about to jump through when a very large man in armor appeared with a portable e-web. His helmet was off, revealing the aging face of a Clone trooper. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"We're what's left of a rescue mission," Kyle said. "Things went a little FUBAR."

"No room for you," the trooper said. "Go away."

"Can't do that," Kyle said. "More ships will come, we just need some time to rest."

"I'm not going to risk my people for more imps. Get out."

A distance behind the trooper, Kyle saw a woman in native green fabric clutching a child. The woman was pale and delicate in appearance, but the child was strangely swarthy, much like the trooper. The man, Kyle realized, was a deserter.

"My name is Colonel Kyle Katarn of the Alliance to Restore the Republic," he said. "I was part of an expedition sent to see why we lost contact with the Jebiimi rebel leadership. We found out the hard way. We're not here to hurt you or your people."

"The rebels are all dead," the trooper said. "Only ones left on this mudhole are civvies. No one wants your war."

"I'm not here to fight," Kyle said. "Just let us rest until our own rescue comes."

The trooper spat in the space between the sled and skywalk base. "No one's coming to rescue us. General Moc ordered the evacuation himself. They did this to us."

"I know," Kyle said. "They did the same thing to a base of ours. Come on, friend. I'm not your enemy. I just need a place for my men and I to billet until the Alliance comes. Please don't make this a fight."

In the distance, they could hear a rakghoul howling. Thousands more responded, and the sound was getting closer.

That's when Jan climbed out of the control cabin, her helmet in her hands, and walked to Kyle's side. The trooper must have seen something in the pair; he finally raised the heavy e-web to the sky. "Fine, come on through. But you're going to have to ditch that sled away from here."

"I've programmed it to go on its own in five minutes," Jan said.

"Five minutes to evac to the tower!" Kyle said. "Everyone, move move move!"

As exhausted as they were, it took only two minutes to get all two hundred men in the tower. Three minutes later the sled moved forward just as the first line of rakghouls arrived. They tried scaling the tower, but the metal base was stronger than their claws and they could find no purchase.

"Welcome to hell," the trooper said. "Names Deek."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"General came in with a whole battle group," Deek said an hour later. He, Kyle, Jan and Captain Myers from his SpecForce squad gathered arounda table in what was one an officer's restaurant atop the tower. Around the floor, terrified Jabiimi families clumped together while exhausted soldiers ate rations and stared at the ceiling from where they collapsed on the floor.

"I was on duty when the evac order came from the _Arc Hammer_. All personnel were to evacuate pending an experimental weapons deployment. Moc said Jabiim was chosen as a test bed because of the diminishing returns from the mines and the increased violence from the rebels. So they all went."

"All but you."

"I found a woman here who didn't care that I shared my face with millions of others," the clone said. "Gave me a son. Couldn't just walk away from that. So I gathered them together in the emergency shelter under this tower. Her family and friends followed, but I didn't care. I was afraid it wouldn't matter. I saw on the holonet what happened to Alderaan. But it wasn't like that. When the boom didn't come, I walked up to the top of the tower and looked what was happening."

He snorted. "The rebels were swarming the spaceport, thinking they'd run the imps off. Stupid. The shuttle opens up and four big, black droid destroyers walked out almost like they were storm troopers, and just laid into the rebels. Another pair brought out a long case. Looked almost like a stasis chamber, like the Kaminoans used on us clones during the war.

One trooper opened the case, the other stuck a stun rod or something into it, and next thing you know the rebels are turning into rakghouls. The dark troopers fought the rakghouls off just like the rebels, loaded the case back in the shuttle, turned and walked out. And things just went to hell from there."

It was the best description yet of Project Talisman. More importantly, though, they had a name associated with it. "Funny thing about General Moc," Kyle said. "He gave me the Imperial Medal of Honor when I was a cadet."

"How'd you get a medal like that as a cadet?"

"My omega exercise went down the well. I pulled my people out, killed a lot of rebels. Then I found out the Empire killed my dad, and none of it seemed to make sense."

Deek shrugged. "That's what the Empire does."

Kyle almost dropped his helmet when the speaker beeped at him. "Attention, this is the Alliance vessel _Amidala_ to any survivors on Jabiim," came a familiar contralto voice. "If you can hear me, please respond."

"I can hear you," Kyle said with a sigh of relief. "Winter, that you?"

"It's me, Kyle. What's your status?"

"Not good," Kyle said. "I have about two hundred men left, and just under three hundred civilians. We're trapped in a tower in the north-east quadrant of the city near the space port. U

nfortunately, there is no hoverpad and the base is armored. The civvies got in through a cross-walk which they blew right after. My people and I got up on a make-shift bridge I had to blow again as well."

"What's the tower look like?" Winter asked.

"Easy. It's the one surrounded by ten thousand rakghouls."

"Hang in there," Winter said. "We're coming."

Kyle stood. "Deek, you wanna see why the Empire's going to lose this war?"

"Sure," the clone said.

The two men, Jan and Myers walked to the windows that looked out into the night. Others, seeing their attention focused outside, did the same. A moment later they saw a beautiful, silver ship which shimmered under the rain fly info view. It hovered over the writhing mass of rakghouls.

The hatch on the side of the ship opened, and a lone figure stepped out into the air.

"Who the hell is that?" Deek asked.

"That, my friend, is Harry Potter," Kyle said. "He's the reason we won at Yavin."

Around the hovering figure, the air began to waiver, as if it were being heated. Suddenly a spark of flame appeared out of midair, dancing before the figure. The flame grew larger and larger, flickering in the rain as it seemed almost to writhe around the man.

Suddenly the man made a sharp motion and the flame became a pillar of white heat that slammed down into the horde of rakghouls. Deek and the others watched as the flame spread out across the whole area, flowing like plasma into every nook and cranny.

A moment later, the rakghouls were gone. Ever single one was simply gone.

Outside, the figure floated up out of view, though a few moments later they could hear a strange grinding noise.

"The roof!" Deek said. He led the way up a narrow flight of access stairs and kicked open a secured lock just in time to see the silver ship landing on a hoverpad that just moments before had not been there.

The figure from the fire was already walking toward them. "Kyle," he said by way of greeting, "how do you keep getting yourselves into these situations?"


	24. The Same Coin

A/N-Chapter 23 review responses are available in my forums.

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**Chapter Twenty-Four: The Same Coin**

Harry walked toward Anakin's padawan. "Kyle," he said by way of greeting, "how do you keep getting yourselves into these situations?"

"It's a gift," Kyle said.

Harry looked at the trooper. "Who's the clone?"

"Deserter. Decided his wife and child were more important than his own life. He's given us the best leads we have on Project Talisman."

Harry nodded, and then walked to the edge of the roof as the _Amidala_ landed. Kyle followed, drawn by the presence the man projected. He remained there, staring out into the darkness of the cursed planet. Kyle stood nearby, drawn to and yet worried for the silent figure.

"Pure evil," Potter whispered finally.

"What do you mean?"

"This plague is a perversion of soul energy, Kyle. It is as close to pure, absolute evil as you can get." He took a long, shuddering breath, then turned and looked back at those assembled on the roof. "How many do you have?"

"Just over four hundred including my people."

"The _Amidala _could hold three hundred, but that would be straining it."

"What about the _Teelin_?" Kyle asked.

"She crashed, probably while trying to make a rescue attempt. _Nebulon-Bs_ are notoriously cranky in the atmosphere, and that particular ship was forty years old."

"So what do we do?"

"We need to retake the _Yavin_," Harry said. "The Alliance can't afford to just throw an asset like that away regardless. We saw the ship as we flew by. Do you have anyone certified to fly her?"

Jan Ors stepped up. "I can fly anything. Kyle's rated too. We have maybe a dozen others who could fill out a bridge crew if the ship isn't too damaged. But how are we going to clear it out?"

"I'll take care of it," Harry said. "Pack up whoever you need to crew the ship into the _Amidala_." Harry turned to the Clone. "What's your name, trooper?"

"Deeks."

"Deeks, I'm leaving you in charge of everything until we get back with our frigate. Then we'll load your people up and get you out of here. Probably to Dantooine for now. Sound fair?"

"Yes, sir!" Deeks said with a stiff salute. Something about Harry commanded instant respect.

"All right. Kyle, get your people moving."

Harry walked back into the _Amidala_, and a few minutes later Kyle and a dozen exhausted SpecForce troopers joined Jan on the ship as well.

In the cockpit, Winter lifted off and took the ship over the field where the Yavin still rested. The field was crawling with tens of thousands of rakghouls. Harry walked through the now crowded lounge to find Kyle and Jan mercilessly questioning their men to make sure they could do the job. All of them paused as Harry entered, walked to the central ramp, and then casually moved down to the edge so he could look over the writhing field of monsters below.

Kyle cautiously joined him. "That's a lot of beasties," Kyle said. "You sure you're up for this?"

Harry shrugged. "It's what I do."

With that, Harry jumped from the ramp into the dark. The only light came from the ship, until a moment later when a ring of fire appeared around Harry. It lit the monsters in terrible clarity, moments before it started burning them.

He felt Jan approaching from behind and smiled weakly as she took his hand and looked down. "By the Force, how can he do that?"

Below, the fire raged around in a broad circle that swept the rakghouls from the field. A blue ball of light suddenly shot up before them in the shape of an antlered animal—an animal which said, in Harry's voice, "Have Winter bring the _Amidala_ into the Yavin's hold."

The silvery figure faded away.

Kyle relayed the order and the _Amidala_ drifted lazily into the massive hold of the frigate. Harry was already there waiting for them. They stepped down the ramp to the smell of sulphur; the floor of the hangar was blackened but otherwise clean.

"Cracken at least had the presence of mind to lock down the ship," Harry explained. "I don't sense any more of the rakghouls on board. There are more coming toward us, though. They don't see well, but the light of the fiendfyre was enough to attract their attention. Winter, Luke, Anakin and Mara, could you help Kyle's people get the ship in the air? We'll swing by the tower to pick up survivors and then we'll do a fly by to see if anyone else is hiding. I sense some other survivors—perhaps in the mines."

With the ship locked down before everything went wrong, they were able to get to the bridge without difficulty and quickly closed the main loading ramp. With the dozen SpecForce commandoes and a handful of truly skilled pilots, the _Yavin_ lifted out of the mud of Jabiim just as another wave of raghouls cleared the crest.

The ship drifted slowly over the dead city until they reached the lone lit tower. They dropped a secondary ramp to the hoverpad while the new bridge crew kept the ship perfectly still. The survivors quickly boarded the frigate.

At Harry's direction, the ship left the city entirely and drifted to a formation of high, stark mountains. It took coaxing from Deek and his native wife to convince the rebel miners hidden there that it was not a good idea to try and wait out the plague. Another hundred and ten men, women and children boarded the ship.

They did an atmospheric fly-by of the ten other major urban areas and found that the plague had spread rapidly. After one more pocket of a dozen survivors, Harry declared there was nothing else they could do. The _Yavin_ sealed up its ramps and made orbit.

The trip to Dantooine did not take more than a day—a day spent in stunned silence. The survivors of Jabiim looked as if they had not truly survived. Their eyes were dead, killed by the horrors of watching loved ones and friends turn into monsters, or die at the hands of monsters. It was a somber ship that arrived at Dantooine.

Harry spoke to the planetary administrator, since the Empire did not bother to keep a presence on the small, agricultural world. The administrator took one look at the survivors and agreed to help them.

Harry did his part by donating to the colonel two thirds of the ship's provisions, and several blaster rifles so that the new colonists could better defend themselves against the local predators. He even donated the quick set shelters that Cracken would have used for his own men if he had survived.

"Thank you, Sir," Deeks said as the new colony was finally set up.

Harry shook the man's hand. "Best of luck on your family, Deeks. I hope your kids never have to see anything like this again."

"Thank you, sir. And I hope you get whoever's doing this."

"Oh, don't worry, we will."

With that, the _Yavin_ lifted off from the surface. Harry made his way back to the bridge where he found all four of his wives, Luke, Kyle, Jan, and even Yoda. He joined them as they broke orbit and made their way to the new sanctuary base.

The group fell silent for a moment as the _Yavin_ burst into hyperspace. When they had settled into the swirling blue tunnel of faster-than-light travel, Harry said, "Kyle, you and Jan need to hunt this thing down. I'm going to make sure you have everything you need. You're going to keep the _Yavin_, and I'll get you another frigate as well."

"Harry, that's a lot of resources," Leia began.

Harry looked at her a moment before she blinked and said, "It's that dangerous?"

"It is a threat worse than any Death Star," he said. "The Death Star is a physical weapon. It kills you. It kills your world. It can be destroyed and stopped or avoided. This Talisman weapon cannot be stopped. It cannot be blocked. Not even I can block what happened. Only the Force-strong are afforded any protection, and even then it can be overcome. It destroys souls. Kyle, you and Jan are the best hunters in the Alliance. You must find it, and when you do, you need to call me, and I will come destroy it."

"Why not find it yourself, if you're so powerful?" Kyle said.

Harry looked at him and smiled sadly. "The Emperor knows I've come into my power—he can feel it. He can feel me anywhere in the galaxy, just like Yoda could. He'll know if I start approaching the target and that will give them time to get away. But while you're searching for the Talisman, I'm going to be doing my own preparations."

"I understand," Winter said with a somber nod. "Whatever you need, we'll help you with."

"And we'll hunt this thing down," Kyle swore. Harry nodded, and then suddenly smiled at Kyle and Jan. "But I think you two have something to take care of first."

"What do you mean?" Kyle said, with a blush.

"I can see your bond," he said. "Jan, do you love him?"

Jan blinked in surprise and felt the eyes of all their SpecForce bridge crew on her. After a moment, though, she raised her chin defiantly and said, "Yes."

"Kyle, do you love her?"

"Yes."

"Then by the power vested in me by right of having once been worshipped as a god; by the power of the Force; and finally because I said so, you are now man and wife. I'll file the certificate, and I'll make damned sure Rieekan and the rest of the command staff know you are not to be separated in your duties. You're the best team I've seen, and now you'll serve together for the rest of your lives."

"Just like that?" Kyle said.

"Just like that," Harry said.

"Good enough for me!" Jan declared. She grabbed Kyle's hand and dragged him off the bridge to the loud, raucous applause of their men.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Anakin could not sleep when they got back to Hoth. The nightmares from Jabiim were too fresh, too intense. He kept seeing Aubrey Wynn morph slowly into a rakghoul while screaming, "_Why did you do this to me_?"

Troubled sleep was nothing new. Anakin had every reason to suffer through nightmares. He deserved to suffer. Few could say they have wrought the horrors that he had. So he walked the icy walls, not heading any particular direction, until he reached the training chamber.

The _Amidala_ was there, and walking up her ramp was Harry Potter, alone.

Curious, Anakin hurried across the padded floor Harry had created and paused by the ramp in time to see Harry walk back down. He blinked in surprise. "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep. You?"

"I don't need much sleep," Harry admitted. "Besides, I have something to do."

"Where are your wives?"

"Sleeping in our old room."

"I thought you were all going to live on the ship."

"We are. They don't know they're in our old room. They'll wake up onboard the ship in the morning and be none-the-wiser."

"You're going back to Jabiim," Anakin deduced.

"The job's not done yet."

"Then I'm coming with you."

Harry looked at the former Sith, then shrugged. "Fine, I could use the company. Come on."

This time Harry didn't bother to vanish the roof. The ship simply popped out of existence and popped back in orbit. The sentry ships nestled nearby in the asteroid belt, watching the planet for any signs of Imperial incursions.

"You're worried," Anakin said as he watched Harry's hands slide deftly over the controls of the impossibly large small ship.

"Tell me about the Sith," Harry said. "Mainly about their lore and powers."

As Harry flew the ship through the asteroid belt with a sure hand, Anakin began describing the Sith as he was taught by Darth Sidious. He described some of the more esoteric powers, such as the draining of life energy.

Harry listened in silence, occasionally asking a pointed question but never actually letting Anakin know what was on his mind. Finally, when they reached clear space, Harry pulled a lever, and mere moments later they crossed a quarter of the galaxy and emerged near Jabiim. The planet looked as desolate as before.

This time, however, there was a Star Destroyer in orbit.

"Damn it," Harry muttered. He activated a few touch-screen lights and the ship hummed.

"What did you do?"

"Cloaked us. I'm going to take us closer to see what they're doing."

Harry brought the _Amidala_ closer to the star destroyer, almost to within a few hundred meters of the open ventral hangar bay. As they fell into position, both men saw a large shuttle rising up from the surface.

"Do you feel it?" Harry asked as the shuttle approached.

"There is darkness on board the shuttle," Anakin said with certainty.

"They have live rakghouls. Possibly to spread the plague even faster. This is why I came back. Damned."

He pulled the _Amidala_ back from the star destroyer and accelerated for a few minutes before he spun the whole ship around on its central axis, once more facing the now distant star destroyer. Without hesitation, Harry activated a switch that brought up a targeting reticule in the center of the viewport. He centered the reticule on the star destroyer with a hand-held jockey stick, and a brilliant beam of white light lashed out from underneath the ship.

Anakin watched the beam as if mesmerized. It moved slower than a conventional turbolaser bolt, with a hypnotic finality. As slow as it was, it was still faster than the pilot of the star destroyer. The beam struck the 1,600-meter-long war ship amid stern. It burned easily through shields and armor designed to withstand planetary-level bombardment as if it were cutting through cloth. The ship exploded in a white-hot ball of plasma.

"Phased particle beam cannon?" Anakin guessed.

"You only need one," Harry said, though he was not smiling. He maneuvered the _Amidala_ away from the expanding star of the destroyer until he had an unimpeded view of the planet. "Merlin help me, I never thought I would have to do something like this again."

"Do what?"

Harry looked at Anakin and his expression made the former Sith shake and feel somehow small. "What did you think when you felt Alderaan die?" Harry asked.

"I…I was so obsessed with Leia I ignored the screams in the Force."

"Well listen more closely this time."

He pushed a single space on his flat, automated control panel. A single glowing torpedo shot out from the fore launch tube. Anakin watched as the light glided in a parabolic course toward the atmosphere, punching through quickly. He didn't know what to expect, but when it happened he still felt surprise.

The torpedo detonated in the upper atmosphere, and almost at once the clouds seemed to ignite around it. A ring of fire began to spread over the surface, from a tiny pinprick into an ever-expanding circle of destruction that left desolation in its wake. The process took only minutes before the entire surface of the world became a gray, featureless wasteland.

"By the Force," Anakin breathed. "What was that?"

"A cascading reactive molecular hydrogen warhead," Harry said. "A planet killer. I needed to make it—that's why we returned to Hoth. Much more energy-efficient than a Death Star, but no less evil. The planet will not see rain again. Every molecule of water on the planet was converted to hydrogen and oxygen, and then the hydrogen atoms were split in a cascading nuclear reaction. Whether the water was in the air, or in a body, it's all gone now." Anakin noticed that Harry's hand shook a little as he leaned back in his seat. "It's never easy to kill a world."

"You've…done something like this before?

"Anakin, I know that as Darth Vader you slaughtered children. You betrayed the Jedi Order and in the course of twenty years committed terrible atrocities with at least one full extinction to your name. I know this. So when I tell you that I have done things in the name of the Light that would make Darth Vader's actions seem childish and petty, I hope you understand what I mean."

"But…Yoda said you are a Lord of Light. That Darkness cannot touch you."

"Believe me, my friend, the Light Side has killed just as many as the Dark. In the end, we're two sides of the same coin. I kill to protect my wives and whatever goals they think best. But my enemies are just as dead as if I were the worst dark lord."

Anakin could only stare in silence at the grim countenance of his daughter's husband, while Harry efficiently piloted the ship back to Hoth.


	25. Fast Times on Hoth

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Fast Times On Hoth**

"Do you think Skywalker will be there?" Jekria asked her parents.

Drake Lo'gaan looked at his wife with an expression of disgust. "Probably not. I'm sure Master Skywalker is on a mission somewhere."

From the cot on her side of their cabin of the small transport, Jekria snorted. "You know who I mean, Dad. Luke. The cute one."

"As opposed to the murderous one?" Jekria's mother, Ekria said darkly.

"Yeah."

Ekria and Drake Lo'gaan were among the lucky minority who survived the Jedi purge. They were also among an even smaller number of Jedi who faced Darth Vader and survived. The fact he was out of his armor and calling himself Anakin Skywalker was hard to swallow. And yet, Master Kenobi was by his side once more, just like in the Clone Wars. And Master Yoda was alive and on board their transport. And there was no denying that Luke Skywalker was nothing, nothing at all, like his father—save for the fact that he was the most powerful of all the Jedi on the base in terms of raw Force ability.

"We're approaching Hoth," Ekria finally muttered as she left the cabin. "Better go to the cockpit and drop out of hyperspace before the asteroid belt."

Drake nodded and followed, and Jekria tagged along out of boredom until all three stood in the cramped cockpit of the shuttle. Space streaked around them as they dropped out of hyperspace a few thousand kilometers short of the Gates of Hoth, as the Alliance now called the belt.

Hoth Base was now almost two years old, and had become a major hub in the growing Alliance. Because of all the material the Alliance recovered from the Battle of Yavin, and because of the ships that they were somehow able to capture with such ease, the Alliance was now going toe-to-toe with the Empire on two separate fronts, both successful so far.

Admiral Ackbar waged a brutal and efficient defense for the shipyards of Mon Calamari, and the world was now openly Alliance. The two subsequent Imperial attacks had both been beaten back. The entire Correllian System, which included several habitable worlds, also was openly allied with the Alliance thanks to the efforts of Garm bel Iblis.

The rumors that Bel Iblis and Mon Mothma were at heads was true enough. Drake met both before going to Dagobah last year. But according to her father, Jekria knew the third member of the Alliance Executive Council kept the two together—Harry Potter merely had to look at them, and they would stop arguing like recalcitrant children in front of their paretns. As a result of the two continuing to combine their efforts, the Alliance was now a genuine, powerful military Force and a real threat to the Emperor. Hoth was also the home of the New Jedi Order.

"Hoth Command, this is _Dagobah One_ requesting permission to land," Drake said over the holorelay. "Transmitting security codes now."

Hoth Command responded immediately. "Codes acknowledged, _Dagobah One_. You're clear to land in Hangar 5."

"Acknowledged."

Where once Hoth Base had only one large hangar, the complex now had at least five, from what Jekria could see. The air sparkled with multiple redundant shield walls, including impressive ground fortifications, three ion cannons and what looked like a series of mobile infantry turbolaser cannons.

"Wonder where they stole those?" Ekria said.

"Probably bought them at Rebellion Unlimited," Drake said with a wry smile, which was another way of saying they were stolen from the Empire.

Their computer tracker lit up the appropriate hangar and they brought the transport in. The hangar looked new and glittered with more than just ice. They passed through a particle shield and into a spacious, smooth black top. A controller with light beacons was waving toward a far alcove. Drake kept the transport on repulsor mode and guided it to the directed space before settling down.

Master Yoda appeared from his tiny cabin on the small repulsor sled the Lo'gann's had brought with them when they joined him on Dagobah . "Changed much this place has," the ancient Jedi Master said. He flew slowly down the ramp until he paused by one of the sparkling walls. He touched it in wonder.

"What is it, Master?" Jekria said. She too touched the wall. "It's not ice."

"No, child. Not snow. Carbon. Diamond. Harry Potter has been busy."

Behind them, Drake coughed. "Master Yoda, are you telling me that the walls of this hangar are made of diamonds?"

"Knight Lo'gann, not made of diamonds are these walls. A single diamond they are, shaped by Harry Potter's power."

"How is that even possible?"

"Magic," came the Jedi master's enthusiastic response.

Just then an attractive young woman in the familiar brown robes of a Jedi padawan appeared, her eyes bright. She bowed deeply to Yoda. "Master, it is an honor. I am Ana Tathis, Padawan of Lady Caryn. Master Skywalker asked that I greet you and show you all to your quarters."

"There aren't that many techs around," Jekria noted.

Ana nodded. "This is a dedicated Jedi hangar. We don't have much yet because our numbers are few, but Master Pot…I mean, Harry says that will change. He said the Jedi themselves will change."

She led them across the tarmac. In other alcoves they saw X-wing fighters with the older symbol of the Jedi Order on their fuselages. It seemed strange to see the wings and saber. Jekria had only seen them in her parent's smuggled holovids.

"Padawan Tathis, how many Jedi are there now?" Jekria asked.

"More than there were a year ago," she said with a brilliant smile. "There are Masters Kenobi and Skywalker, of course. Luke is mostly a knight now. No one can beat him, not even Master Kenobi. My own master, Lady Caryn. Qu Rahn is now a knight, as is Feris Olin. I heard Master Kenobi say that Knight Olin may be elevated to a master. He's good enough even Master Skywalker has difficulty besting him.

"We also have Knights Olee Starstone and Chase Piru, and her padawan Seddwia. And now you four have joined us."

"So fourteen including us," Jekria's father said with a dour expression.

"Oh, and Kyle," Tathis added. "Can't forget Kyle."

"Where is Padawan Katarn?" Yoda asked. "Much potential I sensed in him.

"He's a general now in SpecForce. He's leading up the search for the Muur Talisman."

Yoda's hover sled stopped. "Muur Talisman, you say? Why not informed was I?"

"I…" Ana blinked. "I'm sorry, Master Yoda. I don't know. Master…I mean, Admiral…Harry is in over-all command of the search for it. Knight Katarn answers directly to him."

"Knight Katarn is, already?"

"He's the only one that can even come close to beating Luke, and he's defeated both Master's Skywalker and Olin. Master Kenobi thought him ready."

"I see. Lead on, you must."

They reached the main hall leading from the hangar into a long, narrow broad hall linked in sparkling diamond statues of beautiful women in alluring posses. "That's not really a Jedi thing," Jekria said.

Ana had the grace to blush. "Er, no. That's a Ma…Harry thing."

"Harry?"

"He asks that we not address him as master since he is not a Jedi. Officially the Alliance has him listed as Fleet Admiral, but he doesn't really command the fleet, Ackbar does. It's just, people tend to do what he says."

Yoda snorted. "Ironic, that is."

"Master?"

"That not master he wishes to be known. Jedi came about because of him, but Jedi he is not. That is true."

As they walked further, Jekria became aware of something else. "It's not cold!"

"No, the walls aren't ice, and the floor and ceiling are both heavily insulated, so we can regulate the temperature now without worrying about melting anything."

They finally reached the Lo'gann quarters, which was a surprisingly spacious four-room suite. "Two bedrooms and two office-slash-meditation rooms," Ana said. "Master Yoda, your quarters are further down the hall with the other Masters."

Tathis and Yoda left, leaving the Lo'ganns to settle in. The three crates holding their entire personal effects arrived just minutes later, carted by droids. The interior of the room was lined not in ice, but it what looked like a faux wood surface, while other walls were a plain white that invited decoration.

The room came equipped with a small holosuite, a fully functional kitchen and two compact freshers. Though not exactly luxurious by Core World standards, it was as fine as anything Drake or Ekria had in the Jedi Temple as children.

Jekria sat up when she heard a commotion outside. When she emerged from her room, she saw possibly the strangest thing she had ever seen in her life.

Luke Skywalker was hanging upside down in the middle of the hall. He was not supported by anything but the air itself. His face was slowly turning purple as blood rushed to his head. "What's going on here?" she asked.

Luke sputtered, now flushing as well as turning purple, and Jekria snickered. Just then a dark-skinned woman in her thirties came tearing down the hall. "Luke? They got you?"

"Got me first," Luke said with a sigh. "I think they planned to from the beginning."

The dark-skinned knight laughed. "Well, I'd get you down, but frankly I have no idea how to."

"I'm working on it. It's not the first time this has happened."

The woman turned her attention to the Lo'ganns and smiled. "Ekria, Drake, you probably don't remember me."

"Chase Piru," Ekria said, smiling herself. "I remember at least. Can you tell us what's happening?"

"Training exercise," Piru said. "Jedi against Mages."

"Who's winning?" Jekria said with a grin at Luke.

Luke sighed. "It doesn't help that the Mages have Jedi training too."

Chase laughed, and then yelped as she suddenly flipped upside and rose into the air beside Luke. The older knight's face turned even more purple than Luke's. But she grinned good-naturedly. "Looks like the Mages are winning."

The air nearby shimmered, and a stunning woman with bright red hair and green eyes appeared, wielding a stick in one hand and a lightsaber in another. "Don't forget it," she said.

Jekria remembered the woman's name, now. Mara Jade Potter, one of Potter's wives. The red-head looked at the Lo'ganns. "Are you three playing?"

"We don't know the rules and we just arrived," Ekria said.

"Rules are easy. No killing. Sabers are set on training mode only, anything and everything else goes."

"What did you do to them?" Jekria asked.

"A simple binding spell and a levitation spell," Mara said with a twinkle in her eyes. She patted Luke's face. "Luke knows all about it."

"I'm going to get down eventually, you know," Luke said. "And when I do I'm going to spank you."

"You'll try," Mara said. She disappeared suddenly with a pop.

The Lo'ganns all felt a suddenly, almost numbing surge in the Force, and just like that Luke fell to the floor with a loud thud. He stood up with a grimace. "They're all out to get me," he muttered.

"I'm sure it just seems that way," Chase said.

From the air, a laughing voice said, "No, we really are out to get him."

Luke surged to the left as a red bolt of energy flew by and struck the floor behind him. His saber came to life and batted away two more. Jekria noticed his eyes were closed as he did this. She began to believe Ana Tathis when she spoke of his skills.

Jekria heard a pop beside her and barely had time to bark a warning before Luke spun about and batted away another red light. Suddenly lights were coming at him from two separate directions.

In the Force, she could sense a presence, though she could not see. With a grin, she slowly flicked her own saber on to training, and then with all the speed the Force could muster she slashed the air beside her.

"Hey!" a voice called. A second later another woman appeared, this one the seeming opposite of Mara, with white hair and icy-blue eyes. She looked at Jekria with narrowed eyes. "You are so going to get it," she said.

"I guess I'm playing," Jekria smiled at another of Potter's wives.

Nearby, Luke laughed. "Anything goes. You're out for five minutes, Winter."

Winter folded her legs and shrugged. "Fine."

Just then, Chase Piru broke her own restraints and fell to the floor, lightsaber at the ready.

"Has Mara left?' she asked.

"I don't sense her," Luke said. "They're down to just three for the next five minutes."

"Let's get going, then."

Luke turned to Jekria and grinned. "Coming?"

As the three ran down the hall, Ekria and Drake shared a long, uncertain look. On the floor behind them, Winter smiled. "Yes!"

The two elder Lo'gaans turned and looked at her. "Luke needs a girlfriend," Winter said with an unapologetic shrug.

"He doesn't need our daughter," Jake said firmly.

Winter's smile faded at Drake's vehemence. "You're thinking of him as the son of Darth Vader. That's a mistake, Drake. He is the son of Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo. He has his father's power, but his mother's heart. Of all of us here, he is the purest, kindest Jedi ever. But if he does not get a girlfriend soon, he's going to drive us all nuts. Besides, Leia's…"

She stopped.

"What?" Ekria demanded.

"Let's just say Leia has caught glimpses of the two of them together. They have the potential to make each other very, very happy. Just saying."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Afterward, sitting in a small lounge area nursing a drink and a bruised rib, Jekria said, "There were only four of them. How could they beat us all? There were ten of us and only four of them."

"They cheat," said Seddwia, Piru's Twi'lek padawan. The woman was herself on the verge of knighthood, and was among the first taken down by Potter's wives.

"They do not cheat," Luke said, defending them. "They just have a larger…arsenal."

"You're just saying that because one of them is your sister," Seddwia said, though without heat.

"And that usually just means they attack me first," Luke pointed out. He smiled at Jekria. "Thanks for your help, though. That's the first time any of us ever tagged Winter. She's sneaky."

"You're sister is worse," Olee Starstone said.

Luke shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose she is."

The door opened and the resident masters walked in. Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Lady Caryn all looked—put out.

Yoda was cackling.

Behind them came Harry Potter and his wives.

Jekria found herself watching the man who had single-handedly changed the course of the war. He made a show of seating his ladies, and then walked over to the Jedi, directly to Jekria. He looked somber.

"Yes?" Jekria asked, suddenly nervous.

"You tagged Winter, catching her by surprise."

"I was asked if I wanted to play."

He leaned down until his face was an inch from hers, his strangely alien green eyes boring into hers. Suddenly the spell was broken when he grinned. "Awesome! You're the first ever to tag her. Great job, and welcome back!" He then leaned forward, and whispered, "Luke is very shy. But he does like you."

He then straightened and winked at her before heading back to his wives.

"What'd he say?" Luke asked.

Jekria smiled and blushed. He blushed as well and looked away nervously.

"Well, now that we've had our fun, let's discuss what we learned today," Obi-Wan began.

"We learned they cheat," Seddwia said.

"They don't cheat," Luke began, honor-bound to defend worthy opponents.

"Sure we do," Harry said with a grin. "We can teleport at will. We can disillusion ourselves. We can stun you, bind you, hang you upside down and even remove your clothes with a flick of a wand."

"You wouldn't!" Lady Caryn said.

"Too late," Olin muttered.

"Well, it was four women," Leia said with a smirk. "No point in stripping another woman."

"Too bad Kyle isn't here," Mara added with a snicker.

"And the point of this exercise was what, Mister Potter?" Caryn said. The middle-aged Jedi Master carried herself with dignity and power that seemed at odds with Harry.

"Well, we're on a recruitment drive," Harry said. "I've determined that there is a correlation between midi-chlorian counts and magical potential. Essentially, I'd like to take you all and turn you into Mages."

Ana Tathis perked up with a smile that was much, much too bright. "Does that mean we have to marry you too?"

"That would end the discussion for me," Feris Olin said dryly.

"I don't know," Obi-Wan said with a wry smile. "He is quite the handsome lad."

"What would Nera think?" Anakin asked.

"She'd probably want to join his harem as well," Obi-Wan said.

Harry laughed with them. "Sorry, the wife quota is about full. So, no marriages required. It would require me to remove your midi-chlorians. In twenty-four hours I would be able to tell if your bodies will make the switch. If not, I just put the midi-chlorians back."

Caryn was sputtering. "You're talking about playing around with the very essence of what makes us Jedi."

Harry looked at the intimidating Jedi master, not intimidated at all. "I helped create the very essence of what makes you Jedi," he said. "Midi-chlorians are based on my DNA as a means of preserving non-Mages from the energy fields our magic generates. Winter here is a natural born Mage. She's never had midi-chlorians in her life. Leia was born with as many as Luke. She now has none at all. And yet she can still employ what you've come to see as Jedi powers."

Beside him, Mara added, "I was trained as a Sith. I can still do everything I could before, and so much more."

"It sounds like nonsense," Caryn said.

"True are his words," Yoda said. "Once pure magic were my kind. Removed our magic and gave us midi-chlorians he did." The elderly Jedi Master looked at Harry.

Harry gave him a sad smile. "You, my friend, are too old. If I remove your midi-chlorians, you'll die instantly. They are all that is keeping you alive. I'm sorry. But for your people, I could begin the process."

Yoda's ears drooped a little, but he nodded. "Truth, you speak. Enough to know my people would once more work beside the Celestials."

"Would it hurt?" Ana asked.

"The process is actually a potion I brewed last time we visited Felucia. That place is a gold mind of magical flora and fauna. You'll fall asleep, and when you wake you'll be a mage."

"How would you restore the midichlorians," Obi-Wan asked. "Should we need it?"

Harry held out a hand, and the air shimmered until he held a hypospray. "We give you a shot. It will take about a week for the midi-chorians to re-establish themselves, but they will do so at the same level previously."

"How do you know?" Caryn demanded.

"Because that's how my last wives programmed them," he said. He smiled around the table. "I will say this. The process will be more effective for those under thirty. After three decades, your body will develop a dependence on the midi-chlorians that may make the conversion difficult. So, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Lady Caryn, you are not viable candidates."

He looked at Jekria. "While you, my dear, are the best candidate because of your age."

"That, and she'd make a really cute witch," Maris Brood said.

"Yes, there is that," Harry agreed.

Jekria felt her cheeks burning.

"We can't make a decision like this immediately," Caryn said.

"Of course not. Nor would I expect everyone to agree. It is a personal invitation to any who wish to explore the true power behind the Force. I cannot promise it will work with everyone, either."

The meeting was interrupted by a loud beeping. Harry frowned at the interruption and walked over to the wall com. "This is Potter."

"Admiral, you asked to be informed as soon as General Katarn checked in. He reports a positive lead to Project Talisman."

All humor fled Harry's face. The transition made Jekria a little nervous.

"Thank you for informing me. I'll contact him shortly." Harry dropped his hand from the com before turning and facing the Jedi. "Think about it, if nothing else. The Mages died out bringing humanity to this galaxy and giving you the Force. Now that I have been reborn, perhaps it is time to bring their light back to the galaxy."

With that, he walked out.


	26. Choices

Chapter 25 review responses are available in my forums. Thank you for reading.

* * *

**Part III: Dark Forces in Pretty Faces**

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Choices**

"The Emperor appointed a new Grand Admiral who has essentially been placed in command of all naval assets," Kyle said over the holo-relay. He and Jan Ors were sitting together in front of the relay, Jan with a data pad in hand.

In the Executive Council chambers, Mon Motham nodded. "My spy network has said the same. A non-human, named Thrawn."

"That's right," Kyle confirmed. "It made some waves, let me tell you. Anyway, that's why we haven't really seen Project Talisman deployed after Jabiim. There was a restructuring of the Moff College and Naval Command, but it's done now. We're seeing a massive build up of ships in the outer rim. Hundreds and hundreds of ships, Harry."

"Single base, or spread out?" Harry asked.

"A single assembled fleet around a refueling station called _Ergo_. And guess what ship is right in the middle?"

"The _Arc Hammer_," Harry said, remembering from Kyle's reports a year ago about that being the ship General Rohm Moc used to deploy Project Talisman.

"It's a good bet the Empire is not going to sit on it much longer," Kyle said.

Harry nodded in deep thought, while on either side of him Mon Mothma and Garm Bel-Iblis, the two original founders of the Alliance left after Bail Organa's death, considered the information carefully.

"General," Leia asked from Harry's other side, "any chance this is a trap?"

"If it is, they went all out," Jan answered for her husband. "We sent out a spy droid and did a hard, visual count of hulls. Our agents have also confirmed that the Empire is forcing conscription on several human worlds, and that there have been massive shifts of personnel. It really looks like a prelude to a huge strike."

"That also corresponds to what my spies have been saying," Mon said. The pale, frail-appearing Chandrilan woman spoke in a lilting accent that often caused people to miss the sharp wit behind the words.

"We don't have the resources to match a fleet that large," Garm said.

"Then we move and hide like before," Harry said. "I'm less concerned about the number of ships than I am about the _Arc Hammer_. We have to destroy that ship before it can deploy again."

"The fact the Empire is massing a force that could wipe us out isn't important to you?" Bel Iblis demanded.

Harry shrugged. "I'm more concerned that they have a soul-perverting piece of dark magic that can destroy a world just as thoroughly as the Death Star. The blaster bolts will just kill you. Project Talisman will take your soul and twist it until you become a rakghoul and pass on the curse. And if that spreads off planet, whole portions of the galaxy could be wiped out. At this stage, the survival of all sentient life is more important than the status of your war."

Bel Iblis, a legend among Corellians, did not back down easily. The intensity he saw in Harry's eyes, though, caused him merely to nod. "So what do you want us to do?"

Harry thought it over, and looked down the table at his wives. All four smiled back at him. "We go in on the _Amidala_," he said. "A small strike Force. Mages and Jedi only. We can go in cloaked so the Empire won't know we're there until it's too late, and the Emperor will be far enough away that by the time he senses me, we'll be done. We take out Talisman, and only after that do we target a few of their big ships."

"You plan to attack a fleet with a Naboo skiff?" Mon Mothma asked.

Harry grinned. "She's got a few surprises in her."

"And in the meantime?" Garm Bel Iblis said.

"In the meantime," Harry said, "I suspect we may want to consider moving the base. We're comfortable. That means we've been here too long. At this point it does not appear we need to rush, but we should start moving some of our munitions and personnel to more tactically sound areas."

Bel Iblis nodded. "I've actually been thinking that myself lately. This base is too big."

"I agree," Mon Mothma said. "Whatever progress we've made bringing freedom to the galaxy is not worth the extinction of the Alliance itself. We'll fall back if we must."

"Cowards run away, but generals retreat," Harry said. "Something a very wise old friend told me, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." He stood. "It's going to take a week for me to prepare. In that week, I suggest we begin moving our people."

"What Jedi will you take?" Bel Iblis asked.

"I posed a question to the Jedi earlier. Who answers yes will come with me. The rest should evacuate first—the Order is too small to risk."

"Very well. If we do not see you before you depart, may the Force Be With You."

Harry smiled, enjoying the irony in the formal parting. "Thank you. You as well, both of you. Be careful. I sense danger." He turned to the holographic images of Kyle and Jan. "We'll meet up with you two in a week's time. Keep an eye out on that fleet and let me know the moment they start to move."

"We will. See you soon," Kyle said.

The holographic images faded, leaving Harry alone with his wives. He sat down in their midst, pensive. The four women did not ask, having known him for over two years now. "Something doesn't feel right," he finally said. "I'm wondering if this Talisman is even more dangerous than I thought."

"What do you need us to do?" Leia asked.

"We need to prepare ourselves," he said. "All of us. We're going to do some rune work. I want you four protected as best we can. And who knows, maybe we'll have a few other potential mages joining us."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Word spread through the base, and as early as the next day, the first ships lifted off. The Alliance had decided to decentralize into several smaller command outposts on regional levels, rather than a single master base. Now they would have sector command outposts that could more effectively direct combat actions.

In the Jedi Order, the question was not whether to leave, but who to leave with.

Jekria thought about Potter's words all the time, whether she meditated or trained. She knew her parents were both opposed to the idea, but then again both were well over thirty. She also knew that Lady Caryn was vehemently against it, while Yoda encouraged any who asked him.

On the third day before Harry left, Jekria sat up in her bed and gave up sleep for the night. She slipped noiselessly through the quarters, shrouding her Force-presence from her parents as Yoda taught her on Dagobah. Eventually, she reached the lounge and almost choked when she saw Luke sitting at the table, cradling a glass of blue milk.

He looked up and smiled at her. "Couldn't sleep either?"

Knowing there was no point in denying anything, Jekria shook her head and moved into the lounge. She paused by the cold box long enough to pour herself a glass of milk as well, and then sat down beside Luke. They did not speak at first; rather they just stared into space, each lost to their thoughts.

Finally, Luke said, "I'm going to do it."

Jekria blinked. "Really? What did your father say?"

"He thought it was a good idea. He said I would be a powerful mage. I think Ana will too, though she's not going to tell Lady Caryn."

"I didn't get the impression Ana would ever go against Lady Caryn's wishes."

"She's not a drone, and she's willing to go against orders if she thinks she has cause. Plus, Yoda got a hold of her. Evidently Yoda and Caryn have a history of polite disagreement." The way Luke said that brought to mind titanic lightsaber duels and devastated continents.

"Ahh."

He sipped his milk, and she waited for him to ask, but he never did. "My parents don't want me too," she finally said. "They said doing this will end the Jedi Order."

"You know what father said? He said the Jedi Order was already ended. That he did the deed himself."

"Didn't he?"

"Yes."

Suddenly she grinned into the cup. "What's your favorite color?"

"Blue," Luke said without hesitation. His eyes drifted to her blue Baroli hair that she inherited from her mother, blushed like a school boy, and then looked back down at his milk.

"I heard Seddwia talk to Harry about the change," he said, changing the topic back to safer ground. "He said she's welcome to try, but he doubted it would work on non-humans. He saw genetic mages evolved from original, baseline human stock. Twi-leks didn't evolve from humans at all, so it's likely she can't even make the switch. And Chase is not even going to try if her padawan doesn't."

"What about Maris Hufflepuff, though?"

"She's not full Zabrak. The Northern Zabrak are human/Zabrak hybrids. That's why she looks completely normal except for the horns. Most Zabrak have a much more pronounced forehead and their hairline is receded further."

Jekria nodded, having often wondered why Maris looked so human.

Luke added a moment later: "I didn't get a chance to ask, but I'm almost certain Kyle will do it. He's said the Mage teleporting is the most awesome skill ever, and he would do anything to be able to do it."

"It does make them hard to catch in a training exercise, doesn't it?"

_Luke is very shy. But he does like you. _ She remembered Harry's words, dwelled on them nearly every day as much as the question of whether she would be mage or Jedi. She found herself staring at him, admiring his brilliance and purity in the Force. Not that he was perfect—she'd seen him arguing with some other pilots in a squadron he commanded—but he seemed so utterly nice and thoughtful. And he was handsome, with those bright blue eyes of his. And his hand felt so nice in hers.

_Wait…she was holding his hand_? And before she even knew what she was saying, she said, "I'll make the change if you're there with me."

Luke stared back at her, a startled expression on his face. He looked down at the hand in his, then back to her face. "Blue really is my favorite color," he said.

She grinned weakly, her heart beating so fast it was almost all she could hear. "Will you hold my hand when we take the potion?"

"If…if you want me to."

"Would you hold my hand other times too?"

"I…I suppose I could."

"And if I needed it, would you give me a hug once in a while?"

"I could do that."

Unable to believe her own courage, she said, "What about a kiss?"

"A kiss?"

"Yeah, like this."

It was gentle and chaste, and yet it sent an electric thrill down Jekria's neck and spine when their lips brushed. She pulled back and saw that Luke had a slightly goofy smile on his face. "I could do that," he managed to say.

They stayed in the lounge, holding hands for the remainder of the morning until the others woke up.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"Luke and Jekria, huh?" Anakin said.

Anakin and Obi-Wan were sparring each other, just like they did years ago. Obi-Wan had slowed down a great deal from his youth, but was wise enough to be able to orchestrate his duels like a master gamesman. Anakin, however, was a bundle of power and strength, even without his cybernetics.

"So the rumors go. However, I have seen them hold hands, and though I may be mistaken, it feels as if they are forming a tenuous but living Force Bond."

Anakin paused and stepped back. "Force Bond?"

"Your son is like you in many ways, Anakin. You did the same with Padme, though you were too young to understand what you were doing. I've noticed that Skywalkers give their love only once, but when they do it is for life."

It no longer hurt so much to talk about her. Anakin nodded, and they continued their morning sparring match. "Luke has decided to take the potion."

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, "so has Ana, Jekria and Katarn. The rest shall remain as Jedi. Our numbers were not be too greatly diminished, and the Order will continue."

Anakin shrugged. "I don't know if the Jedi are the future of the galaxy, my friend."

"Only time and the Force will show," Obi-Wan said. They finished their duel and bowed to each other. After Obi-Wan went to shower for the day, Anakin decided to have a word with Leia regarding her brother's burgeoning love life.

He arrived at Potter's quarters and activated the ringer. A moment later, the door opened and Mara look up. "Hello," she said.

"I was wondering if I could speak to Leia today?"

"Of course. Come in."

The lithe red-head left him into the spacious quarters Potter had made for his family. He followed Mara further into the many suites than he had gone before, until he arrived in the bedroom and saw two of Potter's wives lying on their stomachs, completely nude save for some strategically placed blankets. What was odd, though, was that it appeared that Harry and Winter were giving them tattoos.

Harry looked up and grinned. "Leia, daddy's here."

That's when Anakin realized the nude Harry was working on was his daughter. "I'm almost afraid to ask," he said.

"Protective runes," Harry explained. "Leia and Maris are the last. Winter, Mara and I are done. When we're done with these two, we'll be ready to go."

Despite the risk of seeing his daughter naked, Anakin could not deny his curiosity over what Runes were. What he saw was a strange variety of swirling designs almost like letters, only in a language he'd never seen before. "I'm done with this one," Winter said, looking up from a completed pattern.

"Excellent." Harry stood and walked to Maris, who had her face turned to him. He leaned down and kissed her, then placed both hands on the rune. It took on a bright white glow, and when the light faded, all trace of the rune was gone save for the slightest hint of lines.

"What happened?" Anakin asked.

"I charged it. The rune will now only be visible if she falls under a magical attack. That's why I want this done now. The Talisman is the darkest magic you can imagine. I want them safe, and this is the only way I know to do it. These runes were developed during the height of the Continuum War to protect individual mages against the power of our enemies."

"Good," Anakin decided. "Actually, Leia, I heard something interesting this morning about Luke."

"He's got a girlfriend!" Mara said with a half fist-pump.

"Did you set this up?" Anakin asked the red-head. It was hard to believe this woman used to be his old master's servant.

"No," Leia assured her father, "none of us set this up. But we are happy about it. Jekria is a very sweet girl, and frankly she's exactly what Luke needs. I saw…" Her face flushed. "I think they'll be happy together."

Harry resumed his work on Leia's bare back.

"Well, I'll admit she appears to be a very good person," Anakin said. "I'm not too sure her parents will survive the knowledge."

"Let me guess, you almost killed them?" Mara asked.

"Yes, actually. I thought I did kill Drake, but he and his wife managed to trick me and escape."

"Good thing she's not starting a relationship with you, then," Harry said without looking up from his work. "If her parents resist, that will actually push her to Luke all the harder. But they won't—Drake may have issues with you, but Ekria realizes that Luke is not his father."

"You're right," Anakin agreed. "He would never have fallen."

"Sometimes," Harry said, "we don't know how far up we can go until we've seen how far down we can fall." He charged the rune he was working on, and then immediately started working on another. "Anakin, I'm going to take only those who wish to make the conversion. So, Luke, Jekria and Ana Tathis. Kyle of course. The rest I'm leaving here. I would like you to ship out as soon as we're gone."

"Why just those? They are not our best tactical warriors, save for Kyle, who is almost freakish."

Harry shrugged. "He is at that. As for Ana, Jekria and Luke, I need to let them see true power. They've had only a glimpse. It's going to be an adjustment, but a necessary one. That, and chances are we're going to be spending a lot of time together. I won't lie—I'm very happy about Luke and Jekria. It's likely any children they produce will end up marrying mine. Kyle and Jan will likely also produce magical offspring. And my children will probably marry them as well. So it's good to bring them into the family sooner rather than later."

"When do you plan to start having children?"

"When the Emperor is dead," Harry said with a shrug. "Which shouldn't be more than a year or so away. The most important step in the meantime is to remove the Talisman. Just thinking about it makes me angry; we need it destroyed."

"On that, I agree," Anakin said. He turned to leave, and paused. "It occurs to me, Harry Potter, that I have never thanked you for saving me."

Harry and all four of his wives paused in their activities and stared at him.

"I was lost and in pain. You treated me the way I needed to be treated, and because of you, I have a son and daughter I never thought I'd see again. Because of you, I have reunited with my old master and best friend. And perhaps someday I'll be a grandfather. So, thank you."

"You're very welcome, Anakin," Harry said. "You are a part of this family as well. Any children we have, regardless of who gives birth, will know you as Grandfather."

Anakin managed not to tear up as he nodded his thanks, smiled brightly at his daughter, and left the room.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

The shuttle drifted without power in the midst of a shattered comet making its way into the atmosphere of Hoth. Adrift as the planet was in a dirty system filled with asteroids and comets, the occurrence was not unusual.

The pilot of the shuttle was skilled—it hit the atmosphere with no power but at the perfect angle to minimize the disruption of re-entry, positioned solely by chemical positional jets. Once in the atmosphere, it extended its tri-foils but still did not activate any drive systems, not even its repulsor coils, until it was almost on the surface. The shuttle's powerful thruster block then exploded with fusion power and sent it barreling across the planet's icy surface toward the anomalous readings their probe had picked up.

The shuttle found a narrow crevice fifty clicks from the site and went down to land. Its rear latch opened and fifty men draped in white armor, thermal skirts and neck scarves emerged in two lines. Each carried a specialized repeater blaster carbine with a mini rocket/grenade launcher attached behind.

After the men disembarked, their gear came sliding out as well. Specialized, cold-proof speeder bikes, fifty in all. The snow troopers locked their carbines in the dedicated holder on the side of the bikes and climbed on. The bikes purposefully forced the troopers into a near horizontal riding position to minimize their silhouette against the snow. The bikes themselves were a mottled white and gray color with a large filter at the back to absorb the heat of the thruster without actually interfering with the thrust itself.

The leader took off, and all fifty followed along behind in a single line, again designed to minimize the disruption of the snow. They flew slowly, only twenty clicks an hour, again to minimize the amount of snow thrown up by their trail and heat discharge by the bikes.

It took over two hours for them to reach the anomaly, but the snow troopers did not mind. They were human, of course, given the Empire's human-centric recruiting policies, but all were from cold-climate planets. They like the cold, though with their thermal skirts and insulated armor they could barely feel it.

They finally reached the anomaly. Rather than ride right up to it, they dismounted half a click away and examined it from a distance. They saw the force fence around it to keep out the indigenous life, and also saw the two laser cannon turrets on either end. They continued to wait for nearly an hour until they saw a sentry cross between the turrets—a rebel uniform.

The fiftieth man climbed back onto his speeder bike and started the trek back, going just as slow on the return as they did on the first part of the journey. Meanwhile, the forty-nine remaining storm troopers pulled their white carbines off their bikes, pulled their collapsible thermal skirts over their heads, and began the slow, laborious process of crawling toward the power generator of Hoth Base.

Crawling slowly, often laying perfectly still for ten minutes or more, it took easily two more hours to reach the thermal generator. By then the sun was setting. Rather than continue their attack, the snow troopers used their carbines and specialized, self-heating knives to dig into the snow while keeping the surface flat with their thermal skirts. Within minutes they had established a mostly comfortable burrow under the ice and snow within a dozen feet of the rebel power generator.

That evening the night staff in the command center never saw the tight, three second laser-transmission beam shot from fifty kilometers from their base. It was not an open holonet transmission, but rather a brief burst of red light in which the necessary data was encapsulated.


	27. It's a Trap!

A/N: Chapter 26 review responses are available in my forum.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: It's a Trap!**

The _Yavin_ was now Kyle Katarn's personal command. The ship was designated as a planetary assault cruiser. Under his command he now had five hundred soldiers and three heavy cruisers under his command—a sufficient force to vaporize a city, though with only five hundred soldiers he would not be able to invade and occupy it.

More importantly, he had a wife of one year at his side, serving as his executive officer, his moral compass, and his higher mental functions. Unfortunately, at the moment those higher mental functions were not happy.

"So you are going to just hop on Admiral Potter's personal ship, board the _Arc Hammer_, and blow it up?"

"That's the plan," Kyle said. "When you consider I'm going with Harry, it's not as insane as it sounds."

"Yes it is," Jan nearly snarled. "Don't get me wrong—the man married us. But I don't appreciate him taking my husband on suicide missions."

"I don't think it's a suicide mission," Kyle said. "He can teleport, Jan. He's going to teleport us in, and then get us out once we've destroyed the Talisman Project. It's possible no one will even know we're there!"

"General," Kyle's deck officer said, "we've received a signal that the _Amidala_ is en route. They request permission to dock in the ventral hangar bay."

"Granted," Kyle said easily to the captain. Being an army ship, they followed army rankings. "Well, Jan, do you want to come meet him so you can yell at him too?"

"Damned right."

The two made their way through the frigate until they reached the hangar bay. While not as large as what a Star Destroyer would have, the hangar was actually disproportionately large for a ship of Yavin's size due to its dedicated function as a military transport. The two waited with a small honor guard of soldiers for the _Amidala_ to appear.

They continued to wait, until Kyle clicked his comlink. "Bridge, when are they supposed to be here?"

"Sir, they report they have already landed."

Jan raised a brow. "What?"

The air in front of them shimmered, and suddenly a Naboo skiff rested on the hangar deck. The ramp was already down, and Harry Potter stood on its end with an impish grin on his face.

"Anakin told me this ship could cloak," Kyle said. "But I never thought you could fly it cloaked."

Behind Harry came several familiar faces, and a few new ones. Kyle noticed all were either married to Harry, or were Jedi. "So they are the only ones who took the potion?" Kyle asked.

"It's enough," Harry said with a smile. "Oh, by the way, you owe me ten credits."

Kyle's eyes went to Luke and Jekria, who were holding hands like a pair of happy school children. "Son of a gundark," he muttered, before handing the chit over. "You put them up to it, didn't you?"

"They did it all on their own. They're big kids now," Harry said with a smirk. He turned to Jan. "You're looking as beautiful as always."

"Don't talk like that, I still need to yell at you for taking Kyle on a suicide mission."

Harry shrugged. "He'll have a portkey that can teleport him back to the ship if anything happens. Don't worry, this isn't a suicide run. I'm taking two of my wives with me too."

"Who?"

"Mara and Maris," Harry said. "I need Winter and Leia behind to fly the ship if anything happens. She can only be flown by a Mage now."

Harry led them into the impossible vessel toward the spacious cockpit. Winter and Leia were already in the pilot and co-pilot's seat. "Where'd everyone else go?" Jan asked.

"They're getting ready," Harry said. "Kyle, do you have the coordinates?"

Kyle nodded and handed the data chit over to Leia. "Hello again, Kyle," the princess said fondly. "Jan. I love what you did with your hair."

"Thank you. Did you cut yours?"

"A little. Two foot long hair made training difficult."

"It's nice.

"Thank you."

"We have the coordinates," Winter said. "Is everyone strapped in?"

"You two know we're flying into a fight, right?" Kyle asked.

"Kyle, there are always fights," Winter said. "But hair is _important._"

"_Riiiiggghhhht_."

"We're ready," Harry said, smiling at the exchange.

The _Amidala_ lifted off the deck plating of the _Yavin_ and smoothly glided out into free space. At the touch of Winter's fingers to the smooth control panel, the sky exploded into a maelstrom of white light which finally resolved into a tunnel not too dissimilar to hyperspace. And a minute later, the sky reverted back to normal. "I have the station on our sensors," Mara said from her position.

Winter adjusted her coordinates, and Kyle sucked in a breath as Ergo station came into view. "We were three days from that station."

"I crossed a void between galaxies in a week," Harry said. "Mages use a true form of hyperspace your people never heard of. As far as I know, your people never attempted to advance your propulsion systems beyond what you already have. You found hyperdrive early on, which is fast but inefficient and requires an intimate mapping of space to be safe, hence you stay on known routes. True hyperspace is outside of normal matter, and so mapping is less important. This ship goes through planets and stars."

"Amazing," Jan said.

"We're cloaked," Winter said. "Heading in now. And by the Force that's a lot of ships."

Harry leaned down beside her and stared out across the line of vessels. Ergo station orbited a red giant star, and the dim light of the massive orb was just enough to cause the many hulls to glint. "That is a lot of ships," he agreed. "Do we have any readings on life signs?"

"The system is awash with radiation," Leia said. "We're not getting anything on our sensors at all other than that the ships are there."

"Probably why the Emperor chose this system," Harry said.

"The Force is completely obscured by darkness," Kyle muttered after opening his eyes.

"The Talisman," Harry said, not surprised.

"The computer has located the _Arc Hammer_ silhouette," Winter said. "It's located in the exact center of the fleet."

"Good thing we're cloaked then," Harry said. "Take us in, Love." He turned to Kyle. "Time to get ready."

In what could only be called a reception room, Mara Jade Potter and Maris, Lady Hufflepuff were both donning personalized, form-fitting black armor with transparent helmets. "In case the Talisman is used against us," Harry said. "Every precaution. I have armor for you as well."

Kyle looked over and saw that Tathis, Luke and Jekria were already in their armor, though they were still fiddling with their helmets. "The armor is space-worthy," Harry explained. "So if you need to go outside the hull and cut your way back in, feel free to do so. On the buckle of each suit is a portkey. That is a device that will automatically teleport you back to here if you fall unconscious or are otherwise injured. Just grab it and call out, 'Home' and it will take you any time."

As Harry spoke, Kyle slipped the armor on. It felt far too light to be space worthy, but then again he was standing in a room that was bigger than the ship that housed it, so he knew anything was possible with Harry. Once Kyle had his armor on he threw on his battle pack and started assembling his weapons. After a moment, he felt every else looking at him. "What?"

"Have enough guns there, Kyle?" Luke asked.

"You can never have enough guns," Kyle countered.

"True," Harry agreed. "Okay, Mara will apparate Luke, Maris will take Jekria, Ana and Kyle, you'll go with me. We're aiming for a corridor on the outer edge of the ship. Mara, Maris, key off me. Blind disapparations are dangerous. Are you all ready?"

At their collective nods, Harry disapparated with Kyle and Ana Tathis. A moment later, the other two pairs followed.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Anakin woke with an odd feeling. He sat up in his bed, pulled his cybernetic feet close, and slipped into a meditation to try and determine what woke him. There was a sense of danger in the Force—pervasive yet subtle.

It was time to go.

His door chimed and a moment Obi-Wan walked in with Captain Nera Dantels a step behind. The feeling of danger faded before shock that his old master was having such an open affair with a women two decades his junior. And yet, he had never seen Obi-Wan seem so relaxed and happy.

"Anakin," the older Jedi said. "Meditating?"

"I sense danger."

Obi-Wan nodded. "I do too. In fact, all of us are sensing it. I've advised Rieekan. Bel Iblis left for Corellia last night and Rieekan's people are already packing up. The base should be moved within the week. But, that's the rest of the base. Are you ready?"

"I will be shortly," Anakin said.

"We'll meet you in the lounge, then."

When Anakin emerged with his travel case that held all the personal belongings he had accrued since joining the Alliance, he saw the other Jedi ready and waiting. He paused at the entrance, unable to escape the strange, conflicted feelings he had. He had attempted to kill many of the people in this room while wearing the armor of Darth Vader. And yet, he felt a pull in his chest looking at them know and knowing that, despite the best efforts of the Emperor and even he himself, the Jedi Order was going to survive. Unless Harry turned them all into Mages, of course.

"Good morning, my friends," he said.

Feris Olin snorted. "Anakin, Jedi or Sith, you've never been my friend."

Obi-Wan laughed. "True. But in large part because you, Feris, are a bit of a nerfherder."

"Yes he is!" Olee Starstone agreed wholeheartedly. Evidently that relationship was on the rocks, Anakin thought.

"Ready, are we?" Yoda asked, gimmer stick in hand despite sitting on a small hoversled.

"The sooner, the better," Qu Rahn said. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been sensing danger since Potter left."

"No, it's all of us," Anakin said.

Captain Dantels clapped her hands. "Well, the _Starduster_ is ready to go. Rieekan says your other dedicated equipment will ship out this afternoon. Except yours, Anakin. That astromech droid of yours took your X-wing on ahead."

"That's R2," Anakin said, still unable to believe that his daughter loaned the droid to he and Luke.

They walked through the diamond halls of the Jedi wing of the base to the mid-sized freighter that Nera Dantel's flew. Though she was not officially commissioned by the Alliance, almost all of her work now consisted of Alliance contracts. Her current contract consisted of transporting eleven Jedi, including her lover, to the regional command center of Mon Calamari.

The ship had limited cabins, so each room had to pair off, which was easy enough. Obi-Wan stayed with Nera in her cabin, while Anakin and Yoda shared a room. Feris Olin and Qu Rahn shared a cabin, as did Drake and his wife Ekria. Seddwia and her master Chase Piru shared, and Olee stayed with Lady Caryn, who had worn a scowl since her padawan decided to learn "cheap magic tricks" rather than pursue the Jedi arts.

Anakin left his quarter and drifted to the cockpit while the others settled in. "Oh good," Dantels said as he entered. "Want to play co-pilot?"

Widely regarded as the best pilot in the galaxy, Anakin grinned at her quip and sat down. "Sure, if you think I'm qualified."

She returned the grin. "Probably not, but the only other option is Ben, and he's awful."

Anakin laughed. "He is always saying flying is for droids. He just never understood."

"No, he doesn't," Dantels agreed.

After receiving clearance from the command center, they left the hangar and flew into the thickly overcast sky of Hoth. It took only minutes to leave the atmosphere, and when the last of the atmosphere faded behind them, the crowded space around Hoth became visible.

"Who's on picket duty this morning?" Anakin asked.

"Wedge's ship."

Anakin keyed the audio relay. "_Destiny, _this is _Starduster_. We are shipping out."

The nearby Alliance Star Destroyer _Destiny_ flew just within Hoth's Gate in picket duty. On the spacious command deck, Captain Wedge Antilles grinned as Luke Skywalker's father called. "Acknowledged, _Starduster._ Fly safe, we'll be joining you in a week."

While he spoke, on the cold surface below, fifty Imperial snow troopers emerged from their burrows and ran toward the primary power generator. The turret operators were themselves exhausted by the long shift and never saw the white figures moving against the white snow until the first thermal detonators went off, blowing the turret hatch and killing the men inside. Both turrets were neutralized, and the sentry was taken down with a knife to the throat. Not a single shot was fired.

On the _Destiny_, captain Wedge Antilles shook his head when Anakin responded to his blessings by saying, "Fly safe? What's the fun in that?"

Before Anakin's last words emerged, the entire bridge turned red as alert lights and clarions came on. "Sir, ships have just come out of hyperspace on the other side of the Gate!" the tactical officer said. "They're Imperials! Lots of Imperials!"

"Wedge, we see them…"

Wedge never heard the rest. He was turning to order the shields up when the combined, coordinated turbolaser fire of five hundred star destroyers struck the _Destiny_ almost within a second of each other in a terrifying display of fire coordination.

The star destroyer was a tough ship, with shields and armor that could withstand a huge beating. But there came a point that overwhelmed those defenses, and with several hundred other ships firing at the same time, the _Destiny_ never had a chance.

From the cockpit of the _Starduster_ Anakin and Nera watched in horror as the kinetic force of the barrage in and of itself pushed the _Destiny_ away from the asteroid belt toward the planet below. The conning tower was gone already and the dorsal armor blistered and melted under the barrage. Wedge and his bridge crew were among the first to die.

Moments later, the ship's hypermatter reactor breached and the _Destiny_ died in a bloom of white fire.

"They're jamming us," Anakin said. "I can't even call the surface."

Moments later, Obi-Wan and Olin rushed to the bridge. They arrived in time to see the forward elements of an unbelievably large Imperial fleet burn their way through the asteroid belt. "TIE fighters in bound," Dantels said in a numb voice. "Too many. Thousands."

"We can't fight those numbers," Olin said.

"There are alternatives to fighting," Obi-Wan said.

"Yeah, like running away," Dantels said. "Go strap in. This is going to be a fun ride!"

On Hoth, General Carlist Rieekan was scrambling to find out why the base lost power briefly. He finally got a line through to his perimeter on audio only. "Sir, we've been infiltrated. They took out the main generator with small explosives. We've switched to the secondary generator, but the planetary shields are now only at half strength."

"Any visual on what's happening in orbit?"

"Cloud cover is blocking everything."

"Okay, have Major Delin prepare for ground assault. We are beginning the full evacuation."

On the surface, Major Derlin shouted at his men in the trenches to man the mobile turbolaser cannons. The guns were big enough to take down even an AT-AT in five shots. The Empire was not going to have an easy go of it if they came by ground.

Suddenly the clouds overhead caught fire and billowed in a shockwave. From the center of the fiery wave came the sensor dome of a star destroyer's belly. The ship passed overhead, burning away the cloud cover and causing hurricane-force winds on the surface below with its passage.

After Delin picked himself up, he had an unobstructed view of the sky for the first time in a week and felt his heart skipped a beat. He and his men saw a veritable storm of star destroyers in the sky, more than he had ever seen in one fleet. "Oh poodoo," he muttered.

The sky began to rain turbolaser bolts, each one burning through the snow with the concussive force of a nuclear weapon. The base shields began to shimmer not from direct hits, but from the sheer power of the nearby strikes.

Mon Montha ran into the command center, her hair disheveled and her eyes wide. "General, what is happening?"

"We're under assault," Rieekan said. "You need to get to your transport."

"But…"

"General," a new voice said over the speaker, "the entire base perimeter is receiving fire. It looks like they're conducting a Base Delta Zero on us, sir. The ice has cracked and melted, and the soil has become molten where they're firing."

Mothma paled, but Rieekan nodded. "The Imperial commander is a smart man. They don't have anything that can pierce our shields, even at half power, so he's going to make it where he doesn't have to."

"What do you mean, General?"

"He's going to burn the dirt right out from under us."

Major Derlin gave the order to retreat, since it was obvious the Empire had no intention of launching a ground assault. Within the base, Rieekan realized with deep sadness that no vessel could hope to escape. The ten square kilometers of the base were surrounded by a ring of fire that was steadily reducing the crust of Hoth itself into fire.

The base shook violently with tremors as the orbital barrage bit deeper and deeper into the mantle of the ice-covered planet. They all heard the rumble before they actually felt it, but Rieekan knew what it was, and from Mon's face, he knew she realized as well.

They were about to die.

"At least we got Garm, the Jedi and half of our personnel to safety," Rieekan said, hoping that with those left the fight would continue. Moments after he finished the thought, Hoth Base disappeared in the center of a super-caldera formed by the constant orbital barrage of the Empire.

Without ever breaching the Rebel shields, the Empire destroyed the Alliance's largest base.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Six people in black armor appeared in an empty corridor. The corridor was the same gray as all Imperial ships. Almost as soon as they appeared, the six dropped down into fighting stances, with five lightsabers lit.

"Stars," Luke said through their closed frequency. "If feels like death in here.

Indeed, even through their suits the darkness in the air was oppressive. "Clear," their voices called out. They walked down the hall, ready to fight in an instant, until they found the first computer terminal. Mara removed a slicer-cube and plugged it in.

"Found it!" she said. "Project Talisman is housed in a development lab on Deck 23C. And look—the ship has a Dark Trooper production line as well."

"Dark troopers," Kyle muttered. "Goody. They are very tough."

"So Mara, Maris, transfigure them into glass," Harry said.

Kyle snorted. "So when am I going to get that potion of yours?" he asked.

"As soon as the Talisman is destroyed," Harry promised.

The whole group heard a loud clanging sound that came in the rhythm of steps from the hall. They turned to meet the threat as two massive dark troopers turned the corner directly in front of them. Harry was about to transfigure the two war machines into shrubberies when Kyle removed a very large rifle from his pack and fired in a single, practiced motion. He fired a second time right after the first. Two streaks of blue light slammed into the two droids and blew them apart, while also ripping apart the walls of the corridor and setting off every alarm on the ship.

"Subtle," Harry said. "Alright, two groups. Kyle, Jekria and Mara, find the Dark Trooper production line. Luke, Maris, you're with me. Don't forget your portkeys. Mara, disillusion your group and keep a shield up at all times, and get the hell out if there's even a chance they can get you. I will not risk any of you!"

Mara, Jekria and Kyle all gave curt nods before turning and running up the hall. He turned to his own group. He flicked a finger and Luke disappeared. "You too, please, Maris."

Maris tapped her dragon heartstring wand to her own head and disappeared a second later. "Let's go," Harry said as he spelled himself invisible without a wand.

Even invisible, they immediately encountered resistance in the form of ceiling-mounted e-webs and more dark troopers. The e-webs exploded at Harry's glance. Maris transfigured one of the droids to glass while Luke surged forward with Force-born speed and managed to find a kink in the droid armor with his saber.

"Nice sword work," Harry said.

"Why do you think we always go after Luke first," Maris said, her smirk hidden by her disillusionment spell.

"I thought it was because you were picking on me," Luke said.

"No, sound tactics," Harry said. "They went after you first because you were the biggest threat."

On the other side of the ship, Kyle ducked behind a corner as more dark troopers fired plasma cannons at him. Mara's shield managed to keep the debris and shockwave from killing them, but she was gritting her teeth at the strain.

Kyle tossed two thermal detonators around the corner, and after they exploded rolled out and fired his own concussion rifle. The shockwave hurt like hell, but it was the only thing that seemed to dent or damage the huge dark troopers.

Unfortunately, his shot only took out one of the metal beasts. He rushed forward to take out the second when it took on a yellow glow. His sword sliced through glass instead of frik alloy. He couldn't see Mara because of her spell, but he just _knew_ she was smirking.

Perhaps because of the darkness pervading the Force on the ship; or just an oversight on his part, but Kyle never sensed the threat until a plasma canon charge exploded in the middle of the floor. He heard to two woman's voices cry out in pain while he himself was blown against a far wall.

He had a brief glimpse of both Mara and Jekria flying through the air until both simply disappeared. The portkeys, he realized. His did not activate, perhaps because he never lost consciousness. He picked himself back off the floor as another dark trooper approached, this one larger than the others.

"Kyle Katarn," a familiar voice said from the midst of the trooper. "I knew at the Academy you would go far, but I never thought it would be so far away from honor and loyalty. What a disappointment you've become."

Kyle had heard that deep, grandfatherly voice many times during his Academy days. Once upon a time he listened to it with complete respect. "General Rohm Moc. I'd say it's good to see you again, but I'd be lying. I've come to put these little toys of yours to rest."

"We'll see about that," Moc said. "Though even if you succeed here, you'll fail. Did you notice the absence of storm troopers, Kyle? The absence of personnel at all? That's for a reason. The ships around this station are mere shells—old redressed hulks. Even as we speak, your base on Hoth is being obliterated and your fleets are being destroyed. At last the Imperial Navy is under the command of a worthy man, even if he is not truly human."

Kyle fought hard to control his breathing. He sensed nothing but hurtful, joyous truth in the man's words. "Seems a lot of work to go through just to trap a lowly Alliance general."

"Oh, dear, foolish boy," Moc said. "This was never about you. This is about your friend the Celestial. He is going to find that the Muur Talisman is more than a match even for him. And even if he should survive the day, nothing he fights for will. Not that it matters to you any more."

Moc raised one arm and fired a plasma cannon blast without hesitation.

Kyle felt the threat in the Force just moments before and flung himself forward and to the side like he did when fighting the first Dark Trooper. However, this was not a droid brain, but an experienced, capable fighter.

Moc brought his other hand around in a powerful chop that clipped Kyle's right arm, snapping it easily. The Jedi and Mage-potential fell awkwardly and felt his knee cap crack with numbing pain. He managed to just roll away as Moc launched a volley of blaster fire.

"Home!" Kyle shouted as he clutched his belt buckle.

He felt a discomforting pull on his navel, and moments later fell into a couch in the sitting room of the _Amidala_. "Jan!" he cried.

Seconds later Jan was running into the room, following by two of Harry's wives. She immediately started treating his arm while Kyle looked up at Leia. "Mara and Jekria?"

"Mara will be fine," Winter said. "Her magic protected her. Jekria is more seriously hurt. We've put her in a bacta immersion."

Kyle shook his head as Leia knelt down beside Jan and with a flick of her wand, caused his arm to start healing. "Leia, you need to contact Harry. General Moc said this was all a trap to lure Harry away from Hoth Base. He said the base was destroyed and our fleets were under attack."

Leia looked up from his arm and blanched. Winter straightened: "We can't signal them while cloaked," she said. "We'll just have to wait until Harry gets back. Where is he?"

"Still on board. We split up." Kyle grimaced as Leia moved to his shattered knee. He looked up at the two, while Jan moved around to hug him. "But remember—it's Harry. He'll be okay, and he'll get the rest back in one piece."

"We know," Leia said, though she could not hide the doubt in her voice.


	28. Darkest Before the Morne

A/N: Chapter 27 review responses are in my forum.

And now, fun times are over. I know that this started out as a funny, almost crack-fic like story, but then again so did Harry Potter and the Four Founders. And like that first story, this one has taken a turn to the serious and dramatic, and will not turn back. The real battle begins soon.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Darkest Before the Morne**

Harry felt when Kyle, Mara and Jekria left the ship. Maris actually stumbled. "Mara!" she said, sensing Mara's injury through their bonds.

Realizing there was little advantage to remain disillusioned, Harry removed the spell from his group and quickly hugged his wife. "She's alive," he assured her. "Can you feel it through the bond?"

Maris nodded.

Luke looked sick. "Jekria?"

"She's hurt, but alive," Harry said. "Do you need to go to her?"

Luke looked like was struggling with indecision, but after a moment he shook his head. "No, the mission is too important. She would understand."

"Good man," Harry said. "Let's go."

The four of them had already encountered a dozen of the fearsome shadow troopers. The battle droids opened fire the moment they spotted him with their thermal scanners—which is why the disillusionment charms were useless—and continued firing even after Harry or Maris apparated to a point behind them and transfigured their bodies to glass. The shockwave of their own weapons was usually enough to shatter them at that point.

Still, the whole mission felt wrong. The air thrummed with a danger as profound and pervasive as anything Harry had ever felt since waking in this galaxy.

They continued through the halls, transfiguring and destroying dark trooper after dark trooper. They were nearing the lab when the first rakghouls appeared. Only, these rakghouls wore the remnants of Imperial naval uniforms and carried guns. He sensed no intelligence within them, and yet their attacks showed intelligence.

This was the first time Luke or Ana had seen the monsters, and he could see the horror in their faces and feel their fear in their magic. Yet they fought anyway, wielding their lightsabers expertly in an effort to keep the slicing claws and teeth from rupturing their suits.

Harry did not worry about that—any that got too close to him suddenly turned into rocks or sticks, while Maris fired lethal but power-efficient blasting spells rather than wasting power and concentration on transfiguration. As lethal as the dark troopers were, the Rakghouls were in a way much more dangerous. A single bite or scratch meant infection to those not protected by runes, like Luke and Ana.

From the sheer number of the monsters, it appeared the entire lab crew had been turned into rakghouls, and by the time he and his companions reached the lab the halls were littered with bodies, rocks and sticks. Harry stopped at the transparisteel windows of the lab and felt as if someone had punched him. A woman stood in the middle of the lab surrounded by rakghouls. They seemed to be obeying her commands.

The woman herself was stunningly beautiful, with rich black hair that hung down in a thick braid to the small of her back. The braid was wrapped in white cloth. Her white two-piece uniform left her midriff bare and showed her considerable cleavage, but her arms were covered in sleeves that ended in gauntlets. She held a blazing yellow lightsaber in her hand, and around her neck was a scorpion-like choker that nearly glowed black with evil energy.

"She's beautiful," Maris whispered

Beautiful, but deadly, Harry knew instinctively. Red, enraged eyes looked at him through the glass.

"At last," she hissed through the speakers mounted on the wall. Her accent was strange and lilted, as if she were attempting to affect an age old dialect of basic. A moment later, though, Harry realized it was not an affectation. "My captor finally shows his face. Are you ready to die, Sith?"

Harry stared at her, captivated. The woman's power was stronger than anything he had encountered in this galaxy. However, it was the dark Sith magic that hung about her shoulders that caught his attention.

He raised a hand and in a blink of the eye the rakghouls around her turned into more sticks and stones. Her eyes widened in shock for a moment, but then she set her teeth and raised both hands. A wave of soul-twisting energy came rushing at them.

Harry realized the depth of his mistake when the energy struck Ana and she fell, he cries changing into growls. "No!" he shouted. With a thought from Harry toward their portkeys, Luke and Maris were gone, but it was too late for the young, newly-turned witch. Ana Tathis's soul died and a monster ripped its way out of her body in a split second.

"I'm sorry," Harry said as he transfigured this last rakghoul into a piece of crystal. He then turned and looked at the woman on the other side of the lab, staring unfazed at him with her lit saber in hand.

He felt anger from her—righteous anger. "Fine," he said, summoning Ana's lightsaber. Thus armed, he stepped into the lab. The woman attacked immediately, employing Force-born speed and strength on par with Anakin himself.

Harry parried with a skill gained through eons of experience that would have surprised the Jedi. "I am not Sith," he said as he held back a flurry of blows.

"You are!" the woman snarled. "The general showed me images of you killing innocent soldiers, soldiers just trying to protect the Republic!"

Harry shrugged. "Well, I have killed soldiers, that's true. But the Republic fell over twenty years ago. The soldiers serve the Sith Emepror."

"Liar!" She charged again in a high-line attack that forced him to step back.

He finally was able to push her off for a breath. "My name is Harry Potter. And I was on Jabiim, the planet where you unleashed your power. Millions of people died on that world. Is that what you wanted?"

"NO!" The shout bordered on a hopeless wail of despair. "Never! I didn't mean to. The droids woke me and hurt me. It was instinctive. Muur struck before I could control it."

"You're a weapon," Harry told her. "The Sith Emperor has been using you to strike at his enemies. They built droids who could not be turned to escort and control you. They took you to a rebel-friendly world and made you destroy it. I can't let that happen again."

She shifted her balance. "The Talisman wants you. He can feel your power."

"I bet he can. Muur was a Sith, then?"

"Yes. He wants me to give the talisman to you."

"And what happens to you?"

"Nothing. I'll die before I let this cursed talisman fall into the hands of a Sith."

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

She swung with a yell. Harry disapparated and banished her to a wall. She spun around, eyes wide. "Who are you?' she snapped back.

"I'll tell you if you tell me," he said. "But I promise I am not Sith. I'm here to destroy the weapon the Empire has been using to kill my friends."

The woman straightened a little, though her saber remained at the ready. "I believe you," she whispered. "Very well. My name is Celeste Morne of Ossus. I was tasked by the Jedi Covenant to hunt down and find the Muur Talisman on Taris three years after the Sith destroyed my world. Unfortunately, I found it. I witnessed its power, and so I…I agreed to take it with me into Dreypa's Oubliette, a device that would hold me in suspended animation. The Sith found me, and used me as a weapon."

_Just like Anakin said,_ Harry thought. Except that Anakin never believed Morne was still alive.

Then another thought struck. He knew that Taris's rakghoul plague and the war she spoke of occurred almost four thousand years ago. He was looking at a four-thousand year old Jedi. And he remembered what Leia had passed on from the spirit of his first Lady Slytherin, Daphne Greengrass.

_He needs one more wife…. One who knows pain as much as him, who would guide him and teach him to live again. A woman as brave and self-sacrificing as he is, and one also lost to time…. Just remember the night always seems darkest right before morn."_

"Holy shit," he muttered as he looked at this powerful, out-of-time Jedi with new eyes. Only, she was in no mood to talk about love, and she was powerful enough to be a threat even to him with that talisman around her neck. So, he talked. "You do realize that Ossus was destroyed four thousand years ago," he said softly.

"What?' For a brief moment, the fight went out of her and her shoulders sagged. "How is that possible?"

"Time goes quickly when you're in suspended animation," he said. "Or dead."

Her wandering gaze snapped back to her face. "Who are you?"

"As I said, my name is Harry Potter. I am what your people would call a Celestial. The same Sith that used you summoned me, and tried to use me as his personal weapon. He eventually learned his mistake, and I've been fighting him since. You're welcome to join us."

"Never!" she said. "I'll never let anyone use the talisman!"

"Then destroy it."

"I can't."

"I can," Harry said resolutely. He loosened the bindings he kept over his magic, letting his true power shine forth.

Her red eyes widened. "What are you?" she whispered.

"I told you," he said with a smile. "I am a two-million year old Celestial. The midi-chlorians that give you the Force were based on my DNA. My people created them. We built the human star systems. We brought humanity to this galaxy. And right now, I tell you I have the power to destroy the talisman."

"Muur does not believe you," Morne said in a shaky voice. "He thinks he can use your power for his own."

Harry grinned, but there was no humor in it. "Then let him try."

Without warning scorpion-like choker unlocked itself from Morne's neck and flew toward Harry on its own volition. Harry caught it and felt the cold, burning power of the talisman. "I've been destroying irritating little pieces of trash like you a million years before you were born, Muur," he whispered to the sentience contained within the device. It was, in a very real sense, a Sith horcrux.

He began chanting the exorcism spell, summoning the full power of his magic as he did so. Nearby, Celeste Morne staggered against a wall, gasping and crying at the pain of suddenly being freed. Harry, though, ignored her as he brought the full strength of his power against the most evil of devices.

The sentience within the device sensed the threat and reached out in the only way it could. Celeste screamed as black fluid gathered at the corners of her eyes.

"I don't think so," Harry growled. He poured more strength into his incantation, and Celeste stopped screaming and lurched over unconscious to the floor.

_I will not be defeated!_ The spirit of Muur raged. _I am forever! I am eternal!_

"You don't have any idea of what forever means!" Harry hissed. "I am the Forever Mage! And in the name of the light and magic, I banish you forever, Karness Muur. BEGONE!"

Power surged once more. The scorpion-like talisman glowed bright white for a brief moment, before it cracked. The physical destruction was mild compared to the spiritual scream that rent the Force.

Harry staggered back, numb from the shock of the destruction, and exhausted from the sheer amount of magic it took to destroy the talisman. He staggered to the fallen Jedi and knelt down beside her.

He was about to wake her when he heard heavy footsteps behind him.

"So you are the mighty Harry Potter," General Rohm Moc said from the center of his lethal Dark Trooper exosuit. "And to think the Emperor was ever worried about…."

He never finished. Harry transfigured the suit into a small tin can, but did not resize the man within. The results were bloody and instantaneous. He turned back to Celeste, using a conjured cloth to wipe the black fluid from her eyes. She came too and saw him leaning over her and tending her. "What…."

"Easy," he said softly. "The talisman has been destroyed. You're free."

She shook her head, and natural tears started to wash away the black. "I'll never be free," she whispered. "I killed so many…."

"And how many more did you save by taking the talisman into yourself?" Harry asked. He couldn't help himself. He smiled at her. "By Merlin, what you did is the bravest thing I think I've ever seen. You knew exactly what your fate would be and you did it anyway. By heaven that's incredible. You're incredible!"

She stared into his amazed eyes. "Are you really a Celestial?"

He leaned closer until he could smell her. He could tell she had not bathed in a long time—she smelled of blood, sweat and pain. But the musk of her body was also strong, and he felt himself responding to it.

"I have lived and died many times," he said softly to her. "Five women gather around an artifact from my youth, pledge themselves to be mine, and I am reborn. Again and again through the ages, I've faced dark lords and tyrants, armies and gods, always with five women at my side to guide and strengthen me. This time, the fifth was missing. But I see her now in your eyes. You have the courage and power of the best of Gryffindor."

He opened the bond, not enough to capture her, but enough for her to feel what he could offer. He was expecting her to flush and gasp with the power of it. He was not expecting a blast of Force energy sending him careening into the glass wall of the lab. "Ouch," he muttered as he slid to the floor.

"Lies!" Morne hissed. "You'd try to seduce me just like Muur did. One eternal slavery for another! Never!" Her yellow lightsaber flashed. "I'll die first. I'll kill you long before then!"

Harry had no choice but to disapparate as the blade cut through the glass. She spun around and attacked again as he appeared, sensing through the Force where he was going to appear before he actually did.

As a wizard, he could have beaten her easily, but he hesitated to do so. He didn't know if his hesitation was because she was so beautiful in her righteous anger, or because of the fact that, in a straight Jedi-style fight, she was quite simply kicking his ass.

He found the sensation oddly…comforting. It felt good to know that this beautiful woman, who was powerful but only within the range of her people, could out fight him. It made him feel human again.

"Why are you smiling!" she snarled.

"Because you're beating me," he said.

"You're a fool."

"Yes, probably," he agreed. He had to backpedal to avoid a swipe that would have cut him in half. "When you kill me, what will you do then?"

"You talk about death as if you are its friend."

"Oh, we are good friends. We go way back. Let me show you."

He sent images of his deaths to her, one after the other, hundreds and then thousands. The mental assault stopped her attack immediately and caused her to fall to her knees and retch all over the floor.

He cleaned the mess with a flick of his hands. "Sorry," he said softly.

She looked up, eyes narrowed. "The seduction didn't work, now you try horror?"

He shrugged. "How's this for a trick." He de-activated Ana's saber and then tossed it to her. He then sat down cross-legged across from her and grinned. "I'm completely at your mercy."

She jumped back to her feet and had the saber at his neck. "I should kill you where you stand!"

"Actually, I'm sitting. So you should kill me where I sit."

She blinked in surprise at the jest. "You don't think I'll do it."

"Oh, that's just it—I know you'll do it. I can feel it from you. You have the strength to kill if you need to, even to kill yourself. You're dedication knows limits. I could beat you with my power, but it doesn't feel fair. So, since you're the better Jedi, I will submit to you. Kill me if you think you must."

She looked at him in confusion. "I don't sense evil in you."

"When you stop long enough to actually reach out with your senses, it's amazing what you can find out. I am not Sith! I came here to destroy the Muur Talisman. And in the process I discovered the most incredible, beautiful, powerful woman I've seen in two million years. Can you blame me for trying to woo you?"

She took a step back but kept her saber at the ready. "You just met me."

He closed his eyes. "I can see your soul, Celeste Morne. If you look, you will see mine as well."

He felt her extending her senses to his mind, and without hesitation opened himself up to her, exposing hundreds of thousands of years of memory.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Celeste Morne knew pain. From watching her world die as a young padawan at the end of the Great Sith War, to the indescribable horrors of Taris, she knew pain.

She knew the Darkness as if it were her lover. Karnass Muur seduced her into accepting the power of the talisman to keep it out of the hands of the Mandolorian Pulsipher. However, she was strong enough to withstand the power he offered. Only to defeat his ultimate purpose did she keep the talisman and allow herself to be frozen in time.

Only, time and again in those last, terrible days, she used the talisman as a weapon against the Mandolorians, who were sweeping across the galaxy in the midst of the destruction of the Great Sith War. If not for the clumsy padawan, Carrick, she would have continued to do so.

He offered her the oubliette as a way to once and forever stop the threat the talisman presented. In her devotion to the Jedi and her hatred of the Sith, and because of Carrick's loyalty to her, she agreed.

Yet it seemed just a heart beat later, the lid of the oubliette opened and she found herself facing a Sith named Darth Vader, and the nightmare started over again. She managed to beat the Sith Lord back and turned his crew into rakghouls to force him to leave her. She crashed onto a barren moon and considered herself permanently stranded. And it remained that way for many years.

She thought herself beyond all hope. But then the ultimate Sith Lord came. He arrived alone, seemingly old and helpless—a wizened, ugly old man with Sith-burned orange eyes and a metallic smile.

He used platitudes like "Dear" and "Child", but his soul was so wretched it made the spirit of Karnass Muur purr. She attempted to strike him down, but the Sith's power was too great, and the last she saw of him with a contented smile as he forced her back into the oubliette. Strange memories came into her while sleeping—of the Emperor actually serving the Republic, protecting it as the Jedi did, against a demon with green eyes and messy hair.

After that she had only glimpses of the great dark droids that hurt her and caused her to reflexively lash out with the power. Again and again. Until the last time when she woke to a lab full of terrified officers and two more of the dark troopers. She lashed out at once, turning everyone she could sense in rakghouls so that she might escape.

Only, instead of escape, she found herself falling into the pit of a strange young man's memories. It felt as if she were falling down a great well. All around she saw memories playing out. Some were of him fighting valiantly. Many were of him loving women, and of their impassioned cries.

And finally she found herself sitting at a small table set before a large, arcing window that looked out over a beautiful, peaceful valley dominated by a lake of deep, dark blue water.

The transition should have left her bedazzled, but for some reason she felt oddly calm. Across from her she saw another woman, with thick, bushy hair barely held in check by a tie of some type, wearing a pale lavender dress. The other woman had soothing, intelligent brown eyes and a broad smile. "Hello," she said.

Feeling as if she were in a dream, Celeste said, "Hello. Who are you?"

"I am the first woman Harry Potter ever loved. I am his first wife. You may call me Hermione."

Celeste blinked and looked around the room. The room suddenly seemed to go on forever, and wherever she looked, she saw thousands of women looking back at her. "Who are all these women?"

"These are your sisters," Hermione said. "They are all the Lady Gryffindors who came after me. Though he pretends he doesn't, Harry remembers every wife he ever had. One life after the other, hundreds of thousands of lives spread over uncountable eons, he still remembers. Because he truly loves every wife he has. And because those lives give him the power he needs to save the galaxy."

"You're really Potter, aren't you?" Celeste said. "And this is an elaborate hoax."

"I am a memory within Harry, so in that sense, yes, I am Harry," Hermione said. "I am an amalgamation of all his memories of me. And since I was not just his first wife, but the first girl who ever hugged him—the first to ever kiss him—the first to ever make love to him—his memories of me have a stronger emotional content and strength than any of the others. I am more real, you might say. Because, though he loved all his wives throughout history, he loved me first and foremost."

"Why am I here?"

"Because you are going to be the last Lady Gryffindor," Hermione said with a wistful smile. "Not even Harry realizes this. Not consciously, anyway. You see, he truly is a Celestial. Our kind wield true power, of which the Force is only the most shallow reflection. We evolved and grew strong until we thought ourselves gods, and then we realized the depths of our mistake when real gods challenged us. Through it all, Harry remained brave and strong. He was born again and again, dying again and again, to help save his people. But there is one battle left. And it is a battle he cannot fight unless he has all five of his wives. He has four—it is you he lacks. With your power, grace and love, and most importantly your strong morality, he will be ready and will be able to put everything back to the way it was supposed to be."

"I am no man's wife."

"Harry is not just any man. He is the Forever Mage. And I can tell you from personal experience that if you allow him to, he can give you such passion and happiness that you will never feel any desire to consider the horrors of your past, while additionally giving you the challenge of changing the future with him."

"You speak as if I don't have a choice."

"There is always choice, Celeste Morne. When you wake from this vision, you can cut him down. The four beautiful, strong women who have already chosen to join him will die as their bonds are severed, but you will not face the temptation of his love again. But when Harry saw your soul, so did I, and I know you will not do this. For you are so full of love that you were willing to give up your life and your future to save people you had never met. You are the closest person to being like Harry that any of us have ever met. And it is that similarity that will bind you. For like you, Harry has had to give up his life and future many times. And like you, his destiny involves a great battle that will reshape the galaxy itself. It is because of this that I know you will choose wisely. And when the time comes, your memory will join us here, and your soul will reside with the rest of us in heaven. Let him love you, Celeste Morne. Of all the people in the galaxy, you deserve his love, even if only for what time you can have it."

Suddenly the room and the woman was gone, and Celeste found herself sitting cross-legged two feet from Harry Potter. He opened his eye and she saw they were an alien shade of green she had never seen before.

"What did you find in there?" he asked softly.

"A woman named Hermione."

His smile turned sad and wistful. "After all these years, I still carry a little part of her with me," he said sadly. "It's amazing that you can still miss someone after so long. I've loved every wife, but I've often wondered if she wasn't my one and only soul mate."

"She says I will be the new Lady Gryffindor."

"It is my hope."

"She says you have a final battle to fight."

"The Emperor of this galaxy is Sith. I intend to destroy him and restore freedom to the galaxy," he said. "Few Jedi survive. You will not just be my wife—you will be a Jedi master to help restore the order and a power mage to rebirth a race."

"I…I have never been with a man. I never thought I would be."

He leaned forward and slowly unleashed the bond. He watched as the flush started in her chest and moved up. "What you are feeling is the first stage of a bond of magic, similar to a Force bond. It will bind us as man and wife. But at this stage I could stop it and you could live your life as you wish. Once upon a time I did not have control over this bond, but I do now, and I will never bond with someone against their will if I have any say in it. Do you wish me to sever this bond, Celeste?"

She closed her eyes, luxuriating in the foreign sensation. "No," she whispered.

"Good," he said. "Because in all my hundreds of thousands of lives, I've never met anyone as selfless and powerful as you, not since my wonderful Hermione." He unleashed the full power of the bond and Celeste convulsed as if struck, moaning as she did so.

"I don't know what to do," she moaned. And so he leaned forward, placed his lips against hers, and showed her. She ran his lips down her long neck, tasting the sweat and musk of her four thousand year captivity.

"Yes," she gasped, realizing now through his physical touch what the urges of the bond meant.

And so Harry Potter and Celeste Morne consummated their bonds on the floor of the lab in the otherwise abandoned _Arc Hammer_ while across the galaxy, the planet of Hoth burned into a glassy cinder.


	29. The Power of Love

A/N: Chapter 28 Review Responses are available in my forums. This is a short chapter-consider it the calm before the storm.

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**Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Power of Love**

Luke stood outside the bacta cylinder, staring at the horribly burned and broken figure within.

The concussion that shattered almost every bone in Jekria's body also left her with third- and even fourth-degree burns over much of her body. The skull fractures were the most immediately life-threatening, but the medical droid had also found bruising on her heart and lungs from the concussive force of the blast.

Mara sat on the bed nearby in the small medical center. She just woke up a minute ago, after Luke arrived. "You okay?" he asked her.

"I'll live," she said. "Harry drew runes on my body that protected me. What's happening?"

"Harry's still on the ship," Luke said. "Ana… I think we lost Ana to the talisman."

Mara closed her eyes and bowed her head. "Damn," she whispered. "You weren't ready for the runes yet, so we couldn't protect her." She slid unsteadily off the table, and Luke quickly caught her. She smiled up at him. "My hero."

"I wish," he said, smiling back.

"You do, don't you?"

"Not any more, not since I found Jekria. She's special."

"She really is."

"But I've often dreamed of what it would be like," he added with a wry smile. "You know, if Harry hadn't come to us; if I would have met you."

Mara knew of the crush he had on her, and in a way it was flattering. Because she knew this man would never, ever do anything to hurt her, Harry or her sister wives. "Me too. But for the here and now, I'm very happy to call you my brother. And I'm very happy you found her."

She sensed his pain through the Force and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Luke, Winter put her in there to stabilize her. But I swear to you, when Harry gets back we are going to heal her. We'll…. WOW!"

Luke looked at her in alarm. Her face had suddenly turned red and her pupils dilated. "Mara?" he asked in panic.

She shook her head and almost ran out of the infirmary. With a last look back at Jekria, he followed out of concern. He found Mara across the hall in Jan and Kyle's quarters. Luke's birth sister was there, as bright red as Mara, with Kyle and Jan sitting between the two wives.

Jan Ors looked up from her husband in alarm. "What is it?' she demanded as Luke made his way into the room.

"Leia," Mara said as she rushed in, "did you feel it?"

"I'm still feeling it," Leia said, blushing furiously.

"Feeling what?" Jan asked.

Before she got her answer, Winter and Maris rushed in wearing bright smiles. "He found her!" Maris exclaimed happily.

"Found who?" Jan asked.

"But how?" Mara asked the other wives, ignoring Jan for the moment in her obvious excitement. "How could he find her on board an Imperial ship?"

"I don't know, but it's definitely her," Maris said. She swayed. "They're doing it again. It must have been the woman bearing the talisman."

"If someone doesn't answer me, I'm going to start shooting," Jan snarled.

"Harry found the fifth wife," Leia said, taking pity on the other woman.

"Fifth wife?" Jan said. "Because four isn't enough?"

"Not for him," Mara said.

"Before you girls got all itchy," Kyle Katarn said in a pained voice, "did any of you manage to contact Hoth?"

The question burned away the excitement the four women seemed to share. Leia sighed. "No, I haven't, and I admit I'm worried. Mon was there, along with most of our ground forces, food supplies for the fleet, and all the replacement fighters we had built up. Not to mention munitions resupplies. It was our largest base of operations. I know they were beginning the evacuation, but they could not have done that much already. It seems hard to believe."

"The Force led me to believe that Moc was telling the truth," Kyle said.

"We'll keep trying," Leia said. She stood and left the medical bay with her sister wives, and Luke followed with a shrug, leaving Jan and Kyle alone.

"Five wives, sheesh," Kyle muttered.

"Don't even think it," Jan said.

"I wasn't. I can't even keep up with you."

It was the right answer. She leaned down at kissed him so thoroughly he had to gasp when they parted. "Don't forget it, you idiot. Look at you. You almost got yourself killed. I don't know why I put up with you!"

"Because I love you?"

"Oh, yeah." She kissed him more tenderly this time. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"Promise."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Celeste Morne shuddered at the memory of the love she just shared. She laid on a cushion of air inches off the floor of the lab that had been all she knew of the ship since she woke from the hell the Sith inflicted upon her.

The general, Moc, had told her that the Sith was coming to finally kill her, and that the technicians that controlled her were under the Sith's thrall. In her weakness and anger, she let Muur have his way and turned them all into rakghouls. Then He came, and instead of killing him, she loved him.

"I cannot believe myself," she whispered aloud.

He stared back at her, his green eyes dominating her field of vision. "Do you regret bonding with me?"

"It is not regret I feel, Harry Potter. It is disbelief. My old masters must be screaming at me from the Force."

He smiled gently and caressed her cheek. The touch alone was more sensuous than anything she had ever experienced before he loved her. "Your masters probably never knew just how extraordinary you were."

"So what happens now?"

He sat up, and with a hand helped her do the same. "Now, we crush the Sith who rules this galaxy. And we live our lives and find what happiness we can. If you wish it, we have children and live to ripe old age as a family while I love you with all my being for the rest of our lives. That's what happens next."

She closed her eyes, now a startling blue that reminded him of his own master, Albus Dumbledore. "I sense others through you," she said. "Other women. They felt what we did."

"They are your sisters now."

She bowed her head. "I've joined a harem. What would Zayne think of me?"

"He'd probably call you crazy," Harry said. "Then again, you took onto yourself a talisman of the purest evil to keep it out of the hands of those who would use it to destroy the galaxy, and sacrificed your future to keep the galaxy safe from it. Perhaps he would instead say you were the bravest, most beautiful being he had ever seen."

She looked down at her body, still glistening with the sweat of their joining, then at him. "Is it always this easy for you, Harry Potter? To conquer a woman?"

"The Emperor forced five women from a planet called Dathomir to come and perform the ceremony that would revive me. They should have been my wives. He killed them before the bonding could be completed, and left me lingering in a weakened state. Perhaps I should have let myself die—death holds no fear for me. But I saw that he was evil, and I have never, ever, been able to let evil abide. Then I saw a young girl by his side, brilliant in her purity of purpose, and I knew that he would consume her soul just like he destroyed everything else around him. So I chose to live. I chose her to be my first wife. My second was a padawan who fell to the dark side when her master was murdered, not because she was evil, but because she was lost and alone; my third was a natural-born witch. My fourth this time was a princess who watched her father and world blown into ash by the Emperor. And you are my last."

"And you will not look at any other women?"

He grinned. "In all my life, I've never looked beyond my wives, save for a single friend I made through the course of several lifetimes. That friendship turned sour, you might say. But even so, I have never strayed beyond my bonds. Ever. I promise, my love, I will love you for as long as I live."

He stood, and as he did so his clothes shimmered back around him. She stood, and she felt the air against her skin tingle, until she too was once more dressed in her white two-piece. "Your power is remarkable."

"And it will be yours soon enough," he said. "You may have been born a Jedi, but from now on you will live as a Mage. Will you come with me?

He offered his hand, and slowly she took it. She noticed as a large crystal statute flew around a corner. It was a crystalline figurine in the pose of a beautiful dancer. He smiled down at it, sadly. "A young padawan turned mage who accompanied us," he said. "The talisman struck her, when you thought we were your enemies. I'll keep her in this form until I've found a way to reverse the plague."

"You think you can?"

"I am married to five brilliant women," he said. "If I can't, they can. Are you ready, Celeste?"

"No. But we should go regardless."

He held her close, his arm around her waist and his hand on her hip. "You are extraordinary," he whispered before she felt a squeezing sensation, and they left the _Arc Hammer_.

They appeared in what looked like the entryway of a spacious house. Celeste began reaching for her lightsaber when she sensed people waiting for her, but stopped at Harry's gentle touch. Four women entered the room, each beautiful and distinct in appearance.

"Celeste, I'd like you to meet your sister bond mates." He guided her to a diminutive but stately woman with brunette hair and compassionate brown eyes.

"This is Leia, Lady Slytherin. She is the adopted daughter of Senator Bail Organa, Viceroy of Alderaan and the last daughter of the House of Organa. Alderaan was destroyed over two years ago, and so there will be no more Alderaanian nobles. Her natural parents were Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and the former Queen of Naboo, Padme Amidala."

The death of planets was not unheard of, even in Celeste's time. "Hello," she said with a regal nod.

"Leia, this is Jedi Knight Celeste Morne, Lady Gryffindor. Celeste is a veteran of the Great Sith War, and was on Taris during the Rakghoul Plague."

Leia's eyes widened. "The Great Sith War?"

"She has been in suspended animation for several millennia to save the galaxy from the talisman that created the plague. Unfortunately, the Emperor found her."

"And the Talisman?"

"Destroyed, though with much effort." Harry turned Celeste to a lithe, startlingly beautiful young woman with vibrant red hair. "This is Mara Jade Potter, my first wife in this life."

Celeste could not help but reach out and touch the red locks. "You remind me of Nomi Sunrider," she said.

Mara looked at the older woman in awe. "You knew Nomi Sunrider?"

"She was part of the relief effort to save the Jedi of Ossus before it was destroyed by a Sith-spawned supernova. She was very beautiful—like you."

"Thank you," Mara said simply.

"This is Winter of Alderaan, Lady Ravenclaw," Harry said.

Winter smiled at the latest addition to the family. "Welcome, my sister," the stunning, white-headed woman said softly. She stepped forward and hugged Celeste. "If what he said is true, you have four thousand years of history to catch up on. I can help you if you would like."

"And finally Maris Brood, Lady Hufflepuff," Harry said. "Maris was a padawan when the Sith Emperor conducted a purge that wiped out most of the order. She brushed against the darkness, but now burns all the brighter because of it."

The Zabrak was staring unabashedly at Celeste. "You're just like Harry," she said. "You've lived forever because you were willing to sacrifice everything. Just like the ghosts of his past wives told Leia."

Celeste looked from the beautiful Zabrak to Harry, then back again. "I suppose we have similarities," she allowed. She looked around the spacious ship. "Where are we? How did we come here?"

"Through the power of Mages, one can teleport," Harry explained. "Leia?"

Leia disappeared with a pop, only to reappear across the floor. "It's a learned skill," Lady Slytherin said with a wry smile at the amazed look on Celeste's face.

"So, how's Kyle?" Harry asked. "I felt Mara's runes activate, so I know she was protected."

"She was, and Kyle is going to be fine," Leia said. "Jekria is another matter. A concussion rifle blast hit almost at her feet. We have her in bacta now, but she needs help."

"Then let's go fix her."

"And Ana?" Mara asked.

Harry handed the red-head the crystal. "Place it somewhere safe. I will not give up trying to cure her."

"There was a vaccine developed against the plague in Taris," Winter said. "Given time, we will be able to recreate it."

Harry smiled at Celeste. "See? Brilliant, all of you."

They left the entryway into the main living area of the ship. Kyle and Jan were sitting on a loveseat looking at a data pad. Jan looked up at Harry and his wives entered. She immediately caught sight of the stunningly beautiful Celeste Morne. "Number five, huh?"

"Are you number six?" Celeste asked dryly.

"No, she's number one, for me," Kyle said. "So where was the talisman?"

"Around her neck," Harry said. "She was a Jedi Knight during the Great Sith War. She found the talisman and kept it from harming others by going into suspended animation with it. Bravest damned thing I've seen in all my lifetimes. The plagues were not her fault."

"Wow," Kyle said. He looked back at Morne. "Hello, I'm Kyle Katarn. General and Jedi in training."

"Is Luke with Jekria?" Harry asked.

"Yeah."

Harry led the small group through the ship until they reached the infirmary. Luke turned and almost wept with relief when he saw Harry enter. Then he paused when he saw Celeste. "Wow, you are beautiful," he blurted.

She smiled at the bumbling young Jedi. "And the Force shines brightly with you."

"Luke Skywalker," Luke said, still stumbling. He turned and looked back at Jekria. "And this is Jekria Lo'gaan." He turned to Harry. "Can you heal her?"

"I can and I will," Harry promised. He stepped to the bacta tank and waved his hands over the glass surface. The young padawan drifted toward the edge of the glass, then drifted through it as if it were air. Her skin, both the whole and burned part, glimmered with the restorative gel. The plugs and masts fell away, and her naked, broken body drifted gently through the air until Harry held her over the table.

So gently that it seemed she wasn't even moving, he lowered her until her weight was on the bed. He looked at every face in the room. "Healing on this scale requires love. I need you, my loves."

Mara was the first to stop to him and place a hand on his back, just like on the Death Star. Leia soon followed, with Maris and Winter joining. "I don't understand," Celeste said.

The five of them looked at her. "In magic, we are one," Harry explained. "Six minds and six souls joined to a single cause. Together, our power is limitless. Join with us, Celeste, and help me heal this child."

Celeste looked at the broken body of the girl, then at Luke's stricken expression. "Very well." She joined the other four women and placed her hand on Harry's back. He closed his eyes, and began to summon power. It was not overwhelming or stunning, but instead felt like a shower of pure white light.

"Luke," Harry said. "Your love for her is important too. You have your own power; place your hands on her chest."

Luke blushed, but did as he was told, gently placing his hand on the space between the young Jedi's breasts. Harry placed his hands over Luke's. "Do you love her?" he asked Luke.

Luke nodded. "Yes."

"Then join with her, and make her whole."

The shower of white light passed from Harry into Luke, and from Luke it turned into a soft, gentle gold hue like the light of Naboo's sun. The gold light seeped over Jekria's body, from the charred ridges where her blue hair used to be, to the burned and blasted stumps that used to be her feet.

Harry lifted his hands, but Luke did not, and the light continued for several more minutes. Suddenly Luke's knees gave and he fell beside the table, until his face was level with Jekria's. And he saw that her blue eyes were open and stared into his.

"I can feel you," she whispered. "You love me."

"I love you," Luke sobbed as he clutched her now healed hand.

On the other side of the room, Harry looked at the five women who were studying the scene with various expressions of wistful sadness or joy. "Let's give them some time," he suggested.

They all left and closed the door behind them. "What happened?" Celeste said.

"By going through Luke to heal her," Harry said, "I bound them. They are as married as we are."

"What do you mean?"

"They are now bound by love. We shouldn't bother them for at least a few hours."

"Good," Leia said. She took a deep, shuddering breath to get a hold of herself after the emotional scene. "Because there's something you need to know."

"We think Hoth Base has been destroyed," Kyle said abruptly.


	30. Wizard's Revenge

A/N: Chapter 29 review responses and an announcement are available in my forums.

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**Chapter Thirty: The Wizard's Revenge**

Winter was speaking quietly to Celeste, quickly filling her in on the last twenty years of history since the fall of the Republic while the rest settled into the cockpit. Harry actually sat at the pilot's seat while Winter sat in the co-pilot's seat.

"Do we dare make an open broadcast?" Mara asked.

"For us, it wouldn't be too risky," Winter said. "But we'd be exposing possible cells who received it."

"No, we're just going to take a look," Harry said.

In the back, Kyle said, "I didn't even know you could fly, Harry."

Harry grinned but did not look over his shoulder. "Kyle, I've been flying since I was eleven, and when you take into account I've been around for two million years, that should tell you something."

His hands flow over the console, and outside space turned white. The white bled into a swirling red tunnel, and a moment later resumed its normal appearance. Ahead they could see a line of asteroids. Harry did not decelerate at all as he led the _Amidala_ through Hoth's Gate at full sublight, until they cleared the asteroid belt and got their first glimpse at the planet they left just last night.

The silence was only broken by Celeste Morne saying, "I don't remember Hoth being that color."

"It wasn't yesterday," Harry said grimly.

The planet had been subjected to a general order Base Delta Zero—a complete bombardment from orbit that obliterated any trace of the surface and left nothing but molten rock. The most obvious scar was a large field of molten rock where the rebel base used to be.

"Oh my stars," Leia breathed. "How…"

"We didn't have full planetary shield, just a regional shield," Harry said. "A smart commander would not have bothered to try a ground assault unless they were going for prisoners. Instead, they just cut through the crust around the shield perimeter and let geology finish the job. The base never had a chance."

"I am detecting wreckage in orbit," Maris said. "From the debris…it looks like Wedge's ship. There are two more burned out hulls. They took the picket ships out quick."

"Ships are incoming," Winter announced from the pilot's seat. "Two star destroyers and four heavy cruisers. Sensors are detecting additional ships on the far side of the planet. It looks like they are just finishing up the bombardment."

In a voice as cold as Hoth used to be, Harry said, "Give me weapons control, please."

Celeste watched as Harry pulled up a completely foreign-looking computer console from his side. Through the view ports she saw a pair of massive ships and four smaller but still huge craft heading right toward them.

Suddenly six white lights belched out a point below their cockpit. Each light moved toward a separate target. The incoming ships started firing their turbolasers both at the _Amidala_ and at the approaching torpedoes, but nothing came of their tries.

The torpedoes hit at roughly the same time, enveloping their targets in mile-wide spheres of pure white light. When the spheres faded, only shrapnel remained. "Wow," Kyle breathed. "Are you sure you don't want to give the Alliance this technology?"

"Once the Alliance has it, the Empire will get it," Harry said. "I'm not going to open that can of worms just yet," Harry insisted. "This galaxy is not ready for Mage technology."

"The other ships are coming around the planetary horizon," Winter said. "It looks to be near sector fleet strength."

"Of course," Jan said. "All the ships around Ergo were empty hulls. This is where they directed their strength."

"Winter, please take control and take us in," Harry said. "We're going to show them what it means to anger a Mage."

"Revenge is not the Jedi way," Celeste said.

He grinned darkly. "I'm not a Jedi. I am a wizard."

The _Amidala_ accelerated under Winter's sure hand. Celeste and the others watched in amazement as Harry shot torpedo after torpedo, obliterating the first lines of ships. As they got closer, a shimmering beam of white energy burst out from under the bridge and impacted a gigantic star destroyer directly ahead of them.

The beam tore through armor like a turbolaser cutting through ice, directly into the hypermatter reactor. As the first star destroyer died in a spectacular explosion that buffeted the small skiff's shields, the phased particle cannon tore into a second and then a third. By the time Winter finished the strafing run, half the ships were either gone entirely, or blown into pieces. The rest of the ships in the fleet were breaking off to either escape through the asteroid belt, or to gain better position to repel the attacker.

Winter, sensing Harry's intent, brought the _Amidala_ back around, and once again he started firing the phased particle canon, targeting each Imperial ship perfectly so that one shot meant one kill. Those ships that had already moved a distance away, he fired a single torpedo at. As they flew, the occupants of the bridge watched in silent awe as the small Naboo skiff obliterated an entire sector fleet by itself.

When the last ship died, Mara said, "We just killed millions of people."

Harry settled back from the console. "One million, seven hundred and thirty-six thousand according to the ship's scans," he whispered. He rubbed his face. "We need to find out who escaped. I think at this point we need to risk communications. Do we have anything on the Gold Channel?"

"No," Leia said. "But that could be due to jamming. Our largest fleet concentrations were at Mon Calamari and Corellia."

"Then that's where we're going," Harry said resolutely. "Mon Calamari first, I think. Winter?"

She nodded while he leaned back in his seat and stared at their burned out home of the last two years. He looked up when he felt Celeste's hand on his shoulder. "I was a mere distraction, wasn't I?" she asked softly.

"That's what it's looking like," Harry said. "And not just you. That was a pretty damned clever ruse, bringing together all those empty hulls of old ships in a system that prevented scanning." He reached out and took her hand. "But I would have gone anyway, and no matter what, I can't make myself regret finding you. For the first time in this galaxy, I am at my full power. For the first time, we're going to take the fight to the Empire."

The ship flashed through true hyperspace, and emerged a moment later into a scene from hell. Nearly five hundred Imperial ships were in a hemispherical formation around a much, much smaller Rebel fleet trapped against the atmosphere of Mon Calamari, pounding on the Alliance ships mercilessly.

"We've got signals now!" Leia said. "By the Force, it's a massacre! We've lost half our fleet!"

"Then it's time to even the odds," Harry said. "Winter, please take us in."

Like at Hoth, the small _Amidala_ launched what should have been an impossible number of torpedoes, each one finding and obliterating its target. Ten, twenty, forty, sixty, eighty torpedoes made quick work of an equal number of capital ships. The quick destruction of so many Imperial vessels caught the attention of the Imperial navy and eased the bombardment of the Rebel fleet.

As soon as the torpedoes were exhausted, the _Amidala_ started with its phased particle cannon, continuing with its one-shot, one-kill ratio as it tore through the stunned Imperial fleet. Harry stood up from his console, though. "Mara, take the weapons please."

She slid into his seat without hesitation and he kissed her cheek. "Where are you going?" Celeste asked.

"Winter, take a pass by that super star destroyer. Don't fire on it, though."

"Where are you going?" Leia said, echoing Celeste's question.

"This was too well coordinated," Harry said. "So I'm going to go meet the man in charge. Don't worry too much if you see anything strange. Remember, with Celeste, the bonds are complete. I'll be back soon."

With that, he disappeared with nary even a pop.

"Well, he didn't say anything about not shooting the rest of the ships," Mara said. She bounced in her seat. "I love the guns on this thing!"

In the void, a figure appeared in space without armor or a suit. Only as a turbolaser canon blast seared through space a hundred feet away did the energy of the blast cause the bubble around him to become briefly visible.

The figure began accelerating toward the nineteen kilometer long _Executor_-class star dreadnaught that seemed to be commanding the fleet. All around Harry, TIE-fighters and X-Wing fighters spit death at each other while massive war machines broke ranks to try and detect and evade the _Amidala_.

Harry continued through the void, secure in the knowledge that between his small size and his Runic shield, he was relatively safe. He could have apparated into the dreadnaught, but without a clear image of the interior he decided it was too risky to do again. _Arc Hammer_ had been dangerous enough. Instead, when he reached the command tower of the ship, he transfigured the outer hull to paper and entered, and then repaired the seal and returned the paper to its original state, doing so again layer after layer, until he emerged on an upper observation deck.

Already marines were pouring onto the deck, alerted to his presence by the ship's security sensors. Harry quickly disillusioned himself and then apparated to the opposite side of the deck. While the marines continued to search the deck, he made his way down the narrow stairs on the far side of the deck until he reached the main corridor. From there he could easily see into the bridge itself.

At the very end of the bridge, looking through a wall of viewports at the battle beyond, stood a blue-skinned man with black hair, red eyes, and a white Grand Admiral's uniform. Several men in gray uniforms were clumped around him talking urgently, probably about how easily the _Amidala_ was tearing through the fleet.

Harry casually walked down the command walkway, noticing the crowded consoles in the pits. The room was lined with storm troopers, fifty at least. But that was not who Harry noticed most. Spread at uneven intervals were small, blue-skinned reptilian bipeds bristling with knives and melee weapons. They were sniffing, and he had no doubt they could smell him.

The blue skin grand admiral turned his head to the nearest of these creatures and nodded before obviously dismissing his officers. He turned calmly and said, "Mr. Potter. Welcome aboard the _Vengeance_."

Harry allowed his disillusionment to fade. Instantly every storm trooper in the room brought their weapons to bear, while the reptilians gathered around the grand admiral.

"You must be Thrawn," Harry said. "I take it the Talisman Project was simply a diversion to get me away from Hoth?"

"Just so," Thrawn said with a nod. "After the debacle at Yavin, the Emperor felt your presence was sufficient to change the course of any battle. And given that I have just lost a quarter of my fleet within minutes of your arrival, I'm inclined to believe this. It is a shame we must kill you—I'd be fascinated to have a conversation with you."

"Quite," Harry said. The door to the command center slammed shut behind him. The air around him shimmered, and without hesitation storm troopers started to fire. The blaster bolts reflected back to the shooters from his shield, and in moments most were dead or wounded. The shimmer started to spark, and moments later a ring of fire formed around him.

The Noghri attacked in a wave, moving faster than normal humans could have hoped. They disintegrated one after the other when they got too close to the fire around Harry. He raised one hand, and with a flash the fire spread out in a ring at the speed of a bullet. In a split second, he and Thrawn were the only ones on the bridge.

"Impressive," Thrawn whispered. "Not even the Emperor knows you can do such things."

Behind them, the door to the command deck began to thud with the efforts of ship marines to get in. Harry ignored the sound as he walked to Thrawn.

"Your fleet at Hoth has been destroyed to the last ship," Harry said. "And your fleet here will follow."

"Perhaps," Thrawn said. "In the meantime, the leadership of your rebellion has been killed. We intercepted intelligence confirming Mon Mothma was still on Hoth. An equally large fleet attacked Corellia and confirmed that Garm Bel Iblis's personal command ship was destroyed as well. You might have destroyed our fleets, but we have destroyed your Rebellion."

He walked toward the still calm and composed Grand Admiral. "You and your Emperor made one fatal error, thought, Thrawn. You didn't get me."

"I admit there was a miscalculation on the part of the Emperor regarding your ability to survive," The Grand Admiral said. "We were, both of us, fairly convinced that you would not survive the Talisman. May I ask what happened?"

"I destroyed the talisman, and have bonded with Celeste Morne. She is my fifth and final wife."

"Congratulations, I suppose," Thrawn said. "A rather barbaric custom, having multiple mates, but I understand your origins go back many, many years."

"You can say that," Harry agreed. He continued to walk until he was only a foot or two from Thrawn. "I was just going to destroy this ship, but I think I have another use for it. But in the meantime, where is the Emperor?"

"He's on Imperial Center, of course," Thrawn said with a dry, humorless smile.

"I don't think so," Harry said. "He's afraid of me. He knows what I can do to him, especially now that I am at full power."

"I cannot control what you believe," Thrawn said with a shrug. "I can only speak the truth."

"We shall see," Harry said.

Even Thrawn was startled by the speed with which Harry latched his hand to the Chiss's forehead. The elegant figure bent back and grunted in effort and pain as Harry brutally invaded his mind. There was no strategy, no tactics—just Harry's sheer, brute-force power ripping through the highly disciplined and intelligent mind of Grand Admiral Thrawn.

He let go, and the Chiss fell to the deck gasping. "Quite unpleasant," the man said, ever the professional.

"A second Death Star?" Harry asked. "How could he get it built so fast? The first took twenty years."

"A prototype was already built in the Maw," Thrawn said, not hesitating to answer now that the secret was out. "They used that as the platform to speed construction. And when it is done, the Emperor will hunt you down and destroy you."

"I bet he will." Harry looked out the viewports. Star destroyers were now breaking formation entirely to escape the black death of the _Amidala_. He smiled grimly. "You had an interesting mind, Thrawn. Your plan was very effective—I suppose it is a shame we couldn't have more time to talk. Thank you, by the way, for the ship. I'll make good use of it by ramming it down Palpatine's throat."

With that, Thrawn disappeared, only to appear directly outside the viewport of the _Vengeance_. His eyes bulged and his face expanded as the vacuum began the quick but painful process of ending his life.

Harry walked to the center of the bridge, sat down, and began to concentrate. A sphere of light formed around him, and then like the fire shot out at incredible speed. The light encompassed the entire super star destroyer, until at the end all nineteen kilometers of the super star destroyer were enmeshed in it. When it passed, the crew and compliment of over three hundred thousand men and women found themselves in space around the ship, their faces fixed in silent screams of pain and terror as they died.

Harry stood on shaky legs and walked to the communications panel. He manually overrode the Imperial frequencies and found the Rebel one. Broadcasting in the clear, he said, "This is Harry Potter to all Alliance ships. I have just gained control of Thrawn's command ship. The admiral and the rest of the crew are dead. I understand that the other members of the Alliance High Council are also gone. As the surviving member of the Council, I am hereby taking command of all Alliance assets. If those members of the fleet are on a ship too damaged to battle, prepare to transfer to this ship. If your ship is reparable, then start repairing. _Amidala_, please finish mopping up the last of the enemy ships and then come aboard. We have some planning to do. Potter out."

With that done, he walked back across the command deck and stared out the viewport at the bodies of all the people he killed. A moment later, he turned and vomited.

No matter his power, murder never sat easily on the conscience of Harry Potter.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Harry looked up in surprise when the door opened, and Anakin Skywalker stepped in.

"And I thought _I _was hard to kill," Harry said.

Anakin smiled grimly and looked around the office. "This looks like a place Thrawn would live in. A brilliant man, so smart it was actually difficult to talk to him. What did you do to him?"

"Raped his mind and then threw him out the window," Harry said.

Anakin settled into one of the repulsor chairs by the large desk Harry was working out. "So you're the new leader of the Alliance?"

"For now. I rather expect you and Obi-Wan to step up, and maybe Ackbar."

"Another brilliant mind."

"Exactly. For the record, I'm glad you got off Hoth."

"Me too. We caught the first edges of the attack—it was a slaughter. We lost almost six thousand people, not to mention two whole wings of fighters and three star destroyers. But in terms of actual numbers—the attack here at Mon Calamari was far more devastating."

The sat in silence, data pads spread haphazardly around the desk. "Leia said they haven't seen you all day," Anakin finally said.

"Lot of work to do."

"I know. You'll be interested to know that Celeste Morne and I had a long talk. It's fortunate she didn't try to kill me, once she realized I was the same Darth Vader who first woke her."

"I never got the full picture," Harry admitted.

"Well, it was shortly after I was put in the armor when I found her. The captain of our ship let slip that the Sith ruled the galaxy and she went insane. We fought and she turned the crew into rakghouls, forcing me to retreat. She then crashed onto a desolate moon. I realize now it was to isolate herself to keep the talisman from falling into Palpatine's hands."

"And?"

"He eventually found her, shortly after we lost control of you, actually. He was powerful enough to overcome her and put into a stasis tube. The amazing thing is, in twenty years she hasn't aged at all."

"That was the talisman," Harry said. "It not only gave her power, it preserved her body."

"Will she age more quickly now that it's destroyed?"

"No. In fact, now that she's becoming a Mage, she'll actually live longer than human norm. With good medical care, likely three hundred years or so."

Anakin nodded. "Harry, I never thought I would find myself in a position like this, but I'm here because your wives are worried about you."

Harry smiled. "I know. Though they will not admit it, they are also scared of me. Especially Leia. She remembers how careless I was at the first Death Star; how I almost got them killed. She's worried about how easy it was for me to kill the crew of this ship."

"How easy was it?"

"Too easy. It is so easy for me to kill, Anakin. I am the most dangerous weapon in the galaxy, I always have been. It is fortunate that we have five brilliant, ethical, moral women in charge of where I am pointed."

"Are they really in charge of you? It doesn't seem like it from where I am sitting."

Harry stood and walked slowly around the large but Spartan office. "They needed time, Anakin, to absorb what happened. The battle at Yavin was an emotionally charged time. The bonds were still new. Since then I've made a point of not killing men if I didn't have to. And then for them to see me so casually wipe out such large numbers—not just this crew but also the fleet that attacked Hoth—they were frightened that I was a monster."

"I'm sure that's not…"

"That's just it, Anakin. I am. I was marked at 18 months of age to kill evil, and I've been doing it ever since. I kill without conscience or hesitation. If the enemy is led by dark forces, then I will destroy that enemy, even if it means using dark power myself. Do you think the entire crew of this ship was evil? Most were actually forced conscripts. Just kids abducted from their worlds and forced into uniform. I killed them anyway, and I frankly don't regret it, because in the end I do whatever I have to do."

"To win?"

"To keep my family safe."

Anakin nodded. "Then do it now. Be with your family, Harry. Because they need you to keep them safe." With that, the former Sith Lord and newly elevated Jedi Master stood and walked out of the office, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.


	31. Shaping the Future

A/N: Bad news, this is a short chapter that serves as the calm before the storm. Good news: This fic will be finished within two weeks. Better news: When finished, I will then post the entirety of the alternate version of this fic as bonus chapters at the end, five chapters a week.

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**Chapter Thirty-One: Shaping the Future**

When Harry finally left the office, after spending another few hours issuing orders to recall and reorganize the tattered remnants of the Alliance, he saw that the new crew of the super star destroyer would not look at him. Wherever Harry went, soldiers and officers alike averted their eyes in a combination of awe, and in most cases, fear.

Harry Potter personally killed over three hundred thousand crewmen of the _Vengeance_. The Alliance personnel could see the bodies clumped haphazardly at the gravitation high spots around the _Vengeance_ still, since they did not have the resources to collect those bodies while at the same time trying to treat their thousands upon thousands of wounded and repair their viable ships. Clouds of dead bodies frozen in the vacuum of space danced stiffly around the gravity points of the nineteen kilometer long dreadnought.

Harry was not surprised by the reaction, and was grateful that Anakin made a point of speaking to him so casually. The irony was lost on the young soldiers who only knew Anakin as a hero of the Clone Wars and not as the _Judas_ of the Jedi Order.

Harry did not give the Alliance time to truly ponder a leader who could wipe out whole fleets seemingly with little more than a thought. He placed Admiral Ackbar of Mon Calamari in charge of repairing and assembling the remnants of the Rebel Fleet. Survivors still able to fight were transferred off the damaged or destroyed remnants of the Rebel ships to the _Vengeance_ and began training to familiarize themselves with the super star destroyer.

The minute-to-minute decisions were easy—the execution was difficult. But Harry was always there, answering questions, suggesting and guiding until things started to move the way he needed them to move. When newly promoted General Han Solo, a freighter captain like Nera Dantels who joined the Alliance a year previously, compared notes with his Naval equivalent in Ackbar, the two discovered at least three occasions where Harry was actually, physically in two places at once.

After two straight days without sleep and a third day folded into the first two through time manipulation, Harry finally handed command over to Ackbar and sought shelter in Admiral Thrawn's personal quarters to sleep.

The Chiss leader had lived in relatively Spartan conditions, with the only luxury being an art collection second to none. Harry ignored it all as he collapsed into bed. He fell immediately into his occlumency exercises to clamp down on the harsh emotions that threatened to boil over. He was there for almost an hour when he heard the door to the command suite foyer open and felt the approach of his fifth and final wife. He opened his eyes and watched as she entered the master suite.

Celeste no longer wore her old clothing, but instead wore clothing of a similar cut, but made of black and gray colors. Still, her beautiful stomach was left bare, and her bosom heaved enticingly with each breath. She was breathtaking, as were all his wives.

She stopped at the foot of the bed and looked at him. "Where are your sisters?" he asked.

"They are with the Jedi. I met with some earlier. It was an enlightening yet heartbreaking discussion."

"I bet."

She pulled off her arm-length sleeves, and then unhitched her top and let it fall to the floor, exposing her large, perfectly formed breasts. She then pulled down her pants until she stood before him naked. "Do you remember me now?" she said without smiling.

"I never forgot," Harry said.

"You have been apart from your wives for days. Even your friend Skywalker came to you at Leia's behest, and still you stayed apart. You led me to believe you drew strength from us. Why then are you here alone?"

He stood from the bed and walked around it until he stood before her, looking directly into her eyes. She was tall for a woman, easily as tall as he was, and her beauty made him light headed.

"They needed time to accept what I could do," he said. "Even in war, to kill so many is a great shock."

She looked back at him, serious and beautiful, and saw into his soul as surely as he could see into hers. "You've done it before."

"I have done much worse."

"You do not feel guilt or anguish," she said. She reached up a hand and pressed it against his cheek. "You feel only sadness. Why?"

For an answer, Harry willed his clothes away, and when he was as nude as her he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed. He began kissing her, luxuriating in the feel of her incredible body and pouring magic into her until she was gripping his hair and moaning in pleasure. Only then did he make love to her, pouring his grief into his love.

He was not surprised when moments later the others arrived, drawn by his passion. Wordlessly, a red-eyed Leia stripped off her robes, as did Maris, Winter and Mara. Harry said nothing as he welcomed each into the bed. None of them said anything as the bed widened to accommodate them. He made love to them all, again and again, as the minutes turned into hours.

When finally they stepped, Harry sat up and the others formed a circle around him on the bed, holding hands. He bowed his head a little, feeling Leia's grief and the pain the others felt at the loss of so many friends on Hoth.

"When I was a young man," he began, "on my second life, but still within my initial span of years with my first wives, a genetically engineered madman began to conquer the world of humanity's birth. He was frightened of my power, and so as a threat he sent an assassin who killed my very first daughter. Her name was Celina. She had almost white-blonde hair like her mother, and she liked to whisper secrets in my ear. Of course, the secret of a two-year old was usually just her making funny sounds, but it made her so happy."

He looked up and saw all five had moisture in their eyes, sensing his grief.

"I went mad after that," he explained. "And for the next few years, I and my friends killed millions of the Great Khan's army. We terrified the world with our power, and the resulting backlash resulted in a purge of my people killed. Our whole race was virtually extinguished. But before that, I killed millions with my power; soldiers and civilians alike. Three lives later, I was summoned to find an Empire spanning a hundred worlds threatening the new home for Mages. And again, I led a force that wiped out billions in a war that had no other possible outcome but the genocide of an entire species, many by my own hand. Over the years, I've killed so many people I couldn't even tell you the number. It was always in the course of war, and never gratuitously, but I've killed. Even in this life, I've killed in cold blood. And I've come to accept that there are times when killing is necessary. After lifetimes of guilt, I've learned that guilt can be self-destructive. So it is not guilt I feel, just sadness that so many people have to die—that human lives are so short."

Harry looked from one face to the other. "Each of you brings your own painful experiences. Leia, Winter, you both saw your world and loved ones destroyed. Maris—in your brush with darkness you killed hundreds of Imperials and almost killed Bail Organa. Mara, you were actually an assassin. And Celeste—you unleashed horrors on hundreds of thousands. And yet, all five of you are pure and untainted by true darkness. The darkness made all of you shine the brighter. Please know that no matter how much blood is on my hands, I kill because I must, never because I enjoy it. The moment the darkness begins to consume my soul is the moment our bonds fail, and I will die."

The five said nothing at first, absorbing his words thoughtfully. Finally, Mara said, "Harry, just how powerful are you now?"

"How powerful is the Force?" he asked. "It is not something you can measure. But it is likely I'm the most powerful being in the galaxy at the moment. And when the fleet is ready, we're going to destroy the Emperor."

"And then what?" Winter asked.

"And then, if you're willing, we are going to find a world to live in and rebuild the Magus race. If you'll come with me, we can make a world together. We can raise daughters as beautiful and stunning as their mothers. We can raise sons who take the best part of their mothers and learn what true courage means. We'll grow old and happy together, and in the fullness of time we will all pass into magic together. If you'll come with me."

"Like we have a choice," Mara huffed. "At this point, I can't imagine not being with you."

Harry smiled at the fiery red head. "I'm glad. Because right now, everyone in this fleet is as afraid of me as they are the Emperor. When we are done helping them, we are going to have to step back from them and let them decide their own fate. I will never allow myself to become a dictator, and their fear is not something I care to live with."

Celeste took his hand. "As it should be," she agreed.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

The remnants of Alliance Command gathered aboard the _Vengeance_ in nervous silence: Anakin Skywalker, promoted by necessity to General of the Army; Ackbar, now admiral of the entire fleet; Obi-Wan Kenobi, reinstated as a general himself. Kyle Katarn and Jan Ors now served as co-generals in charge of Alliance Intelligence. Harry's wives were all there, even Celeste Morne who found herself out of time and struggling to find her place.

Luke Skywalker was now a colonel and commanded an entire wing of X-wings, as well as serving as Solo's deputy commander.

There should have been more. Mon Mothma, Bail Organa and Garm Bel Iblis should have been there. Instead, Colonel Tira Pendara represented the remnant of Garm's Corellian fleet while Yoda represented the Jedi remnant.

Harry met their stares steadily. "The Emperor has built a second Death Star," he began without preamble. "I was able to pull all necessary data from Thrawn's mind. Originally it was to be twice as large as the first, but because of the threat I posed they used an existing test platform to jumpstart construction, so it is actually somewhat smaller. It was the Emperor's intention to use the Talisman to lure me away from Hoth, while launching simultaneous attacks against Mon Calamari and Corellia, which in turn was to beak the back of the Alliance and prevent us from even finding out about the Death Star, much less attack it. These strikes constituted nearly forty percent of Imperial strength in the galaxy. The loss of the Hoth and Mon Calamari fleets has hurt the Empire significantly. The Emperor did not expect any of us to survive, and is now scrambling his fleets around the Death Star, where he has personally taken up residence."

"Where is it located?" Han asked.

"A small moon called Endor. It is protected by a planetary shield, but that will be easily taken care of. The problem will be the fleet of ships he has around it. By now I'd be surprised if he has less than a thousand ships there."

Those around the conference table shuffled uncomfortably. Ackbar said, "Admiral Potter, we have less than a hundred ships. And of those, only a handful are capable of challenging a star destroyer."

"I know." Harry looked around the room. "Our ship, the _Amidala_, has production facilities on board. We are making the torpedoes you saw used during the battle of Mon Calamari. We will distribute torpedoes to each of the X-Wings in General Solo's flights of X-wing and B-wing fighters. These are one-shot, one-kill weapons capable of destroying any vessel, even the _Vengeance_. I will distribute as many torpedoes as I can produce. But be warned—I will remote activate any torpedoes left after the battle to ensure they are not studied afterward."

"I've never seen technology like those torpedoes," Ackbar said. "Where did you find them?"

"No one in this galaxy has seen them," Harry said, "because I built them. They are based on technology that never developed in this galaxy, but was well established in my old one. And that is why I will not allow these weapons to be replicated. The _Amidala_ also has a primary weapon you have seen that is also a one-shot, one-kill weapon. I will expand our own compliment of torpedoes as well. I believe I could fit another hundred or so into our existing 100-shot magazine."

"How can your ship hold so much weaponry?" Ackbar demanded. He had never actually met Potter in person and was having difficulty accepting anything the seemingly young man said.

"Because the interior is close to twelve hundred times larger than the exterior," Harry said. "I magically enlarged it, and at the same time shrank the missile compartment. The missiles resume normal size as they enter the launch tube. And you've seen the proof of my words."

"And you are unwilling to share this technology? Why?" The Mon Cal said.

"The torpedoes I will not share because, frankly, this galaxy is not developed enough to handle the responsibility safely. As for the expansion of my ship—that is not technology I can share. It is magic. A pure application of power that no one but I and my wives could hope to accomplish."

He took a deep breath. "Understand, Admiral, that I did not want to be the leader of this Alliance. I do not have the emotional investment in this galaxy that Mon, Bail and Garm did. When the Empire is destroyed and we have re-established your republic, I will step aside. But until then, I have more experience leading armed forces than every officer in this galaxy combined. I will ensure that our lost friends are avenged, and I will ensure the Emperor and his Empire are destroyed."

"Even with these torpedoes, we will still be vastly outnumbered and outgunned," Ackbar pointed out. "They will have more ships than we have weapons to destroy them."

"By then, I will be on the Death Star and the Emperor will be dead," Harry said. "The Emperor uses the Force to coordinate his military forces. With his death, that will throw the fleet into momentary confusion. We will take advantage of that moment by luring the fleet closer to the Death Star. When I destroy it, the explosion should take most of the Imperial Fleet with it."

"How are you going to destroy it?" Luke asked.

"Magic," Harry said.

"You're that powerful?" Obi-Wan asked.

"I am."

"It sounds as if you don't need us at all," Ackbar said.

Harry shrugged. "What would it mean to the galaxy if I won the battle by myself? It would be exchanging one tyrant for another. But you see—I have no intention for taking credit for anything I do. As far as the galaxy is concerned, a force of Alliance soldiers and ships led by a pair of Jedi heroes from the last war, and the Jedi son of one of them, will bravely take on impossible odds and overcome the power of the Empire in the name of freedom. Skywalker and Kenobi will once again save the day. Each of you has the power of hope. That is power not even I have. You here in this room are the future of the Galaxy, if you but step forward and take it. All I offer is a chance to even the odds."

"You don't want to rule the galaxy?" Ackbar, ever the devil's advocate, asked.

"I don't think I could stand the responsibility," Harry said honestly. "After a few hundred thousand years, Admiral, one grows to dislike people. I like individuals. I love my wives. I like and respect Anakin, Ben and Luke. In fact, I like or respect all of you around this table. But people as a whole—I don't like them. I could never be a good leader of the galaxy, because I don't love it like you do. I see in your eyes, admiral, not just a love of your planet, but of the galaxy as a whole. You fight for the freedom of all sentient beings. You will be better leaders of the Republic than I ever will be, because you love it. I don't."

"So then why do you fight?"

The question came surprisingly from Anakin, who sat watching patiently. "It is a question I've often pondered," the old Jedi continued. "You were pulled into this life against your will. Your first wives were brutally murdered. So why do you fight, Harry Potter?"

Harry smiled without humor. "Because it's what I do. It's what I've always done, life after life, eon after eon. I fight the good fight because that's all I know how to do. And when the fighting is over, I go home to my wives and live as best I can."

Anakin nodded. "Very well, then, Admiral. I think since you wish to have no role in the Republic, you should excuse us. For my part, I have faith in your ability to win this battle. And because of that faith, I believe it is now time for those of us who do love the galaxy to sit down and decide what happens next."

Harry stood with a nod. "I agree. Know that if you need any assistance, I will make myself available." He looked at his wives, especially Leia. "And I know that you five have a stake in this as well. Please feel free to stay and help."

With that, he left the conference room and walked onto the command deck of the Super Star Destroyer.

Outside, the orbit of Mon Calamari was littered with the corpses of dead ships, hundreds of them with both imperial starbursts and Alliance flames. The carnage was mind-boggling, especially considering the huge crews the ships carried. He remembered other ships from his past, and thought it curious how this galaxy required such massive complements for their ships compared to those of the old Federation, or the Unified Confederation that grew out of the Federation's ashes a thousand years after.

He turned and looked back at the ship, and the men and women trying to make it work. The ship was cold and sterile, just like all imperial ships. In the Federation of his third life, captains often went out of their way to make even militarized ships look warm and comfortable—white or pastel walls; the occasional plant. The ships themselves had white hulls, giving them a sense of purity of purpose that seemed to be missing from the Empire. Things were so different here.

"Harry?" He blinked in surprise, confused to see Leia standing before him with a concerned expression.

"What's wrong?"

"I was going to ask you," she said. She stepped aside and Harry saw the interior of the bridge was now a light, pastel blue. Moving mosaics of clouds and birds drifted lazily over the walls. The stunned crew were now clad in beautifully tailored Confederation naval uniforms.

Harry turned and looked out the viewports and saw that not only was the _Vengeance_ a brilliant, pure white against the backdrop of space, but so were all the other Alliance ships.

He felt Leia's hand on his shoulders. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"Lost in memories," he admitted. "I didn't mean to do this."

She turned and smiled at the shocked crew. By then the newly formed Executive Council had emerged and looked concerned as well. "I don't know, I like it," Leia said. "Did you come up with the uniforms yourself?"

"No, they were the uniforms from a past life," he admitted.

"Still, I like it," she said. She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, everything will work out."

"Then why do I suddenly feel so worried?" he asked softly.


	32. Hell Hath No Fury

Author's Note: The first of the two concluding chapters. I will posted Chapter 33, the finale, this evening. Because of this, I will do a combined Review Responses for Chapters 31-32 together tonight as well.

Thank you for reading.

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**Chapter Thirty Two: Hell Hath No Fury**

The fleet was assembled; the command hierarchy was established. Over the next week the crews were trained and fighters were armed. With the delay of establishing the line of battle, the _Amidala_ was able to produce an additional three hundred torpedoes, two hundred of which were distributed throughout Solo's fighter squadrons.

With the information ripped from Thrawn's mind, Harry had the schematics from the shield generator on the surface. There would be no attempt to land ground forces—they didn't have any troops to land in any event. The massacre of Hoth eliminated three quarters of the Alliance ground force capabilities.

Instead, the _Amidala_ would go in under cloak and eliminate the shield generator. The assembled fleet would then make a short jump through hyperspace until they reached the Death Star and the fleet that protected it, and battle would be joined.

That was the plan, anyway.

Harry joined his wives in the cockpit of the Mage-enhanced ship and waited for the signal from Ackbar, who would have tactical command of the fleet while Harry was out of contact. "Nervous?" he asked.

"A little," Leia and Mara both admitted.

Winter nodded and Maris wiped her sweating palms on her slacks. Only Celeste seemed calm and collected. "Our fate is in the hands of the Force," she said somberly.

"Remind me to tell you how I created the Force someday," Harry said with a smile.

The signal came. "We're ready to go," Winter announced.

"Then let's move out."

The _Amidala_ disappeared from both the naked eye and sensors of the Alliance fleet. They appeared minutes later from hyperspace over the blue-green orb of Endor. "It looks a lot like Earth," Harry noted absently.

The other wives smiled at each other, concerned over the strange, distracted behavior of their husband. "I've found the generator," Winter said. "We're going in."

Through the viewports, they saw the myriad twinkling stars that flickered around the half-finished form of the second Death Star. Thrawn's estimates were, if anything, low. "Twelve hundred forty three capital ships," Leia said as she finished her passive scan. "Over four hundred _Imperial-I _and _Imperial-II_ class star destroyers. These aren't empty hulks, either. Our sensors are detecting full complements on each ship."

Harry nodded. Millions of men and women were about to die today, starting with the poor souls manning the shield generator.

"We're in range," she said.

"Shoot a simple nuke," he said. "No need to waste our big weapons."

"Right." While still cloaked, a nuclear-tipped torpedo shot out of the ship almost as soon as they were in the atmosphere. In the shield generator housing, alarms started to blare and bleary-eyed officers and enlisted men scrambled to alert stations, but it was too late. The twenty kiloton device was relatively small by inter-ship combat standards, but for a tactical strike, it provided sufficient energy to destroy the generator.

The mushroom cloud exploded up toward the Death Star as the ray-shielded but not particle-shielded generator vaporized under the point-blank nuclear strike. "Send the signal," Harry said from the weapons station. "And let's start killing ships."

The Imperials knew something was happening immediately. The Emperor was many things, but he was not a fool. Ships began to change their orbital position as they adjusted formation to better protect the Death Star.

The Rebel fleet emerged from hyperspace just as the _Amidala_ emerged from the atmosphere of the moon. "All ships, this is Potter," Harry said. "Concentrate enhanced torpedoes on the star destroyers. Designate your targets—do not waste munitions. Leave the smaller ships for the fleet."

"Copy that," came the terse voice of Anakin Skywalker. The channel remained open as Skywalker continued to give orders to his pilots. Harry half listened as Winter, among the finest pilots alive, took the _Shadow_ into the thick of battle.

Harry used the phased particle cannon on the first ships to come into their sights—a _Nebulon-B_ frigate and a pair of heavy cruisers. But as soon as he spotted his first star destroyer, he painted it with a targeting laser to warn the rest of the fighters, and launched a torpedo.

The mile-wide sphere of light left nothing of the star destroyer but silvery dust. Nearby, he saw another sphere envelope another star destroyer, and another. The Imperial Fleet, having heard of but never seen such weapons, started to break formation under the onslaught. However, through the Force Harry could sense the Emperor's will begin to exert itself. The ships closed formations and continued fighting, taking a toll on the Alliance fleet despite their heavy losses.

"He's here," Mara breathed.

"Yeah, he's a nasty bugger," Harry admitted. He fired two more torpedoes.

Winter broke through the Imperial line and brought their ship back around for another pass. Around them, a few fighters did the same, at least those with torpedoes. They brought with them a veritable wall of TIE-fighters.

"Not all fighters are getting their torpedoes off," Leia said.

"But we can," Harry said. He fired both their cannon and the torpedoes, destroying ships hundreds of times the size of the _Amidala_ with impunity. They heard distant thuds as TIEs trailed them and fired on their runically enhanced shields.

"Ignore the fighters," Harry advised the others. "Nothing short of a Death Star blast will get through. Just keep finding me Star Destroyers."

There were fewer white spheres as the Alliance exhausted its supply of torpedoes, or as fighters carrying the weapons died one after the other. In the center of the Alliance formation, the _Vengeance _stabbed deep into the Imperial fleet, as large as any twenty star destroyers and as lethal as at least that many. Its white hull stood out among the sea of grey hulls. It made quick work of the smaller assault cruisers and frigates that were all that remained of the front lines.

Even so, Ackbar's new command started taking damage.

Harry fired off the last torpedo. "Anakin, weapons count," Harry said.

"All weapons fired or destroyed," the Jedi's voice responded. "We've already got fifty percent casualties among our fighters and we've lost three capital ships. But we've taken out ninety two percent of the enemy star destroyers. It's just the hundreds of smaller ships we have to worry about."

"Good job. All ships, the _Amidala _will finish off the Star Destroyers_._ Concentrate your fire on the smaller capital ships." Harry said. "Admiral Ackbar, Anakin, the _Amidala_ is going into the Death Star after we take out the last Star Destroyer. If the fleet drops below fifty percent fighting capability, retreat. The _Amidala_ has enhanced defenses that will allow us to get out regardless. Good luck."

"May the Force be with you!" Ackbar called.

"And with you, Admiral."

Winter, having heard, was already taking the _Amidala_ toward the nearest surviving Star Destroyer. Harry fired, and once again the phased particle canon tore through the armor to the hypermatter reactor. If the Empire had ever developed transporter technology, they could have easily shielded against the cannon. For while a phased particle canon was incredibly powerful, it was essentially a beam of superluminal particles partially phased into hyperspace, increasing its firepower a thousand fold. In fact, he suspected the Empire could have shielded against the weapon within a year even with just its current technology. He did not intend to give them that year.

He fired again and again, destroying the star destroyers while the hundreds of small Imperial ships opened battle with the much smaller Rebel fleet. He ignored the flares of dying X-wing, B-Wing and A-Wing fighters and concentrated on taking out the last two star destroyers.

"That's it," he said with a deep breath. "Take us in."

The _Amidala_ cloaked again and weaved flawlessly through the battle debris and fighting ships, easily losing the TIE fighter pursuit.

The previous night, he explained his personal plan to his wives, and all agreed to his reasoning. The Sith obviously had knowledge of soul magic to a certain extent, and he did not intend to give Palpatine a chance to escape in any capacity. Even though _Amidala_ could easily destroy the Death Star, he had to face the Emperor personally to make sure the man stayed dead.

They flew directly toward the northern hemispheric command deck where every single one of them could sense the powerful, dark presence of the Emperor. Harry left his station and stepped to the spot between Mara and Winter as he stared at a massive tower that protruded from the surface. "So like him to sit atop a tower," he muttered. "He's obviously compensating for something."

Mara snickered. Winter, though, was staring at his hand. "Harry, why are your runes glowing? I thought they were supposed to be invisible?"

Harry blinked and looked down. On his left hand was the old Ravenclaw tattoo from when he first came into his power. Around the tattoo, his skin seemed to be swirling with runic tattooes. "That's strange," he said. "You're right, they're suppose to be invisible unless activated. For whatever reason, my subconscious mind is activating all my defensive runes."

"What do you mean?" Mara asked.

"Like I told you, in the last war we developed runes to protect our bodies against the gods we were fighting. They're power was so overwhelming that unprotected eyes would burn out looking at them. Unprotected skin would char and vaporize. So we developed these runes to protect and strengthen ourselves." He looked back at the tower. "Palpatine may be even more powerful than I thought. I'll have to be careful."

"You'll come back to us?" Mara asked.

He smiled at her. "If I don't, then it won't matter because we'll all be dead." He leaned down and kissed his first and youngest wife passionately, and then quickly made the circuit of all of them, taking strength from the power of the bonds.

When at last he finished, smiling at Celeste as their lips parted, he said, "Stay close."

"We will," Winter promised from the pilot's seat.

With that, Harry apparated to the tower, letting the dark presence of the Emperor guide him.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"Hobbie, break right, break right!" Luke called.

"Too late!" came the voice of Luke's friend and fellow pilot. To the naked eye, Hobbie Klivian's death was nothing more than a momentary flare. In the Force, it was one of hundreds of brief stabs of pain that signaled the deaths of all those around him.

Luke let the Force guide him as he pulled out from a full squadron of TIEs on his back, only to watch half the squadron explode under the furious fire of a TIE-advanced. "You okay, Luke?" came his father's voice.

"Hanging in there. Green squadron is gone."

"Red too," Anakin said. "Let's just hope Harry doesn't take too long."

Luke barrel-rolled his X-wing out of a flurry of turbolaser fire from a swarm of TIEs and instead took his ship directly toward one of the heavy assault cruisers pounding away at an Alliance frigate. He felt as much as saw the TIEs following him as he led them directly into the crossfire between the ships.

TIE after TIE died while he weaved his way through, guided by the Force. As soon as he pulled up, he brought his fighter around and strafed the cruiser's turbolaser emplacements, concentrating on the larger guns. He fired steadily until one of the cannons exploded, weakening the barrage and giving the Alliance frigate a chance to fight back.

He did not have time to enjoy his victory, though. He pulled up immediately, rolled and then swept back down onto a squadron of TIEs that had targeted him and a Y-wing that was also making a strafing run on the same cruiser. He adjusted his fighter's firing rate and picked them off, one after the other, before they had a chance to take out the Y-wing.

Though the bomber did not have any more of Harry's special torpedoes, it did have a hull full of concussion bombs and let three of them fall onto the already wounded side of the heavy cruiser. The resulting explosion destroyed its weapons placements on that side. The ship's captain, realizing what happened, attempted to roll the ship to bring its other guns to bear, but instead ended up taking a full Alliance broadside directly into its belly. With its shields down and its armor damaged, the assault cruiser cracked its hull, and a moment later the ship exploded.

"Good shooting, Y-53!" Luke called.

A moment later, as the Y-wing pilot was attempting to answer, it was hit directly by a turbolaser blast from an Imperial frigate.

Luke ground his teeth and selected that frigate as his next target.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"_Toprawa_, move to shield the _Alderaan_!"

Admiral Ackbar virtually yelled the command as one of the Alliance fleet's few star destroyers listed to its port side, trailing plumes of vapor under the combined fire of five assault cruisers and frigates.

The _Nebulon-B_ frigate _Toprawa_ moved into the center of the larger formation of Imperial ships, blazing with all weapons to give the _Alderaan_ time to move out of the worst of the fire. Unfortunately, the space was so crowded it had nowhere to go. The Alliance star destroyer moved directly into another Imperial heavy assault cruiser, which itself was engaged with an Alliance cruiser.

The Imperial assault cruiser was 800 meters long, half the size of the larger star destroyer. As the _Alderaan_ slammed into it, the cruiser tore down into the superstructure of the _Alderaan_. A halo of flame flared around the impact point as explosive out-gassing ignited, even if only briefly.

Unfortunately ships that large could not simply stop on a credit chit. The _Alderaan_, having greater mass, continued up into the Imperial cruiser, crushing both ships. The fusion reactors aboard the assault cruiser suddenly ruptured and exploded with titanic force, which because of the angle and the fact it was half-embedded in the _Alderaan_, sent the energy of the explosion directly down into the hypermatter reactor of the Alliance star destroyer.

On the bridge of the super star destroyer _Vengeance_, Ackbar sagged as the _Alderaan_ exploded in a massive ball of plasma that enveloped the imperial cruiser and the second Alliance frigate as well. Unlike Potter's weapons, when the light faded the Alliance frigate remained, but it was burning in several places where its armor was weakened. The opportunistic TIE fighters, sensing weakness, began to hit the frigate like carrion eaters taking down an already injured animal.

"Fleet strength is now at seventy percent and dropping," Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi said somberly.

"It was a fool's chance we had to take," Ackbar admitted reluctantly. "I just hope we live to see this battle end."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Harry appeared in the center of a dimly lit chamber that occupied the top level of the tower. He knew from the _Amidala's_ scans that the tower itself could serve as an emergency escape vehicle for the Emperor, should the need arise.

The Emperor himself sat on an ornately carved throne on a raised dais set before a wall-wide view screen. The battle raged in the background, reduced to flashes of red and green light. Around him were clustered his ministers, while behind Harry the Emperor's vaunted crimson guards were already bringing their weapons to bear.

"Harry Potter," the Emperor's voice rang through the chamber, sharp and hateful.

"Hello, Sidius," Harry said. "Long time no see. How's Thrawn doing?"

"How droll," the Emperor said as his pale faced, soulless ministers stepped away from the throne. Harry did not move as the Crimson Guards surrounded him with their Force pikes. "You have become a constant irritation to me, boy."

"Palpatine, I'm two million years old," Harry said. "Compared to me, you're an infant. And I'm here to spank you."

"Are you now?" Palpatine said with a suddenly feral grin.

Harry held up his hand; behind him the twenty imperial guards exploded, all at once. The gore and blood flew back, coating the courtiers who stayed in the background of the chamber. "Yes, I am," Harry said. He stepped forward and waived a hand again. Over the Emperor the air shimmered for a moment.

"Just in case you've mastered soul transference or any other dark rites," Harry said of the shimmer. "When I kill you, I intend your death to be permanent. And when I'm done killing you, I'm going to blow this station to hell."

The Emperor settled back in his seat. "Your overconfidence is your weakness."

"You're being an evil ass is yours," Harry snapped back. He raised both hands, summoning power. The air around him crackled. The grates below his feet melted. Ministers and courtiers alike screamed as his power burned away their skin and melted their eyes.

The Emperor grimaced as he summoned his own not inconsiderable power. It would not be enough, though. There was never a question in Harry's mind over how this would end. He was going to destroy the Emperor so thoroughly not even quarks would remain from the atoms that composed his cells.

When his full power was summoned, he unleashed it in a thick beam of white death. The explosion of the titanic forces ripped apart the tower. From the _Amidala_, it appeared as if a torpedo had struck. A sphere of white light blossomed out from the tower.

Winter's quick reflexes took the _Amidala_ back from the ever growing sphere, which at its largest easily measured four kilometers in width. When the light faded, though, somehow the tower remained. While the walls of the tower were gone, the floor of the audience chamber remained.

Harry blinked in shocked surprise. The Emperor remained on his throne, momentarily shocked himself by the power. The moment passed quickly, though, as he threw his head back and started cackling. Harry spun around, but for all intents and purposes it looked as if he were standing on an exposed platform atop the north pole of the Death Star.

Yet he breathed, so a field was keeping air in.

The Emperor continued to cackle madly.

"Okay, I'll admit I'm surprised," Harry said. "What will it take to kill you? Decapitation, insufficient adult diapers? How can you still live after that?"

"Because you are not the only Celestial I found!" the Emperor all but howled. "You fool! Only now do you understand the true power of the Dark Side! Only now do you…"

And like that, the Emperor's head went _splat_. The blood and brains shot out in a nebulous cloud that rose up as if free from gravity. Moments later, the headless body followed. The moment the body rose above ten feet, it instantly froze as it encountered the vacuum of hard space. Harry watched as the body stilled and then started to sink back down toward the surface below as the battle station's weak gravitational pull captured it.

"What an irritating little mortal. Hello, Harry," a terrifyingly familiar voice said.

The runes over his body flared with burning red light. Inside his chest, Harry's heart skipped a beat as a moment of undiluted, primal terror slipped past his occlumency. In the _Amidala_, all five wives gasped as, for the very first time, they felt their husband's fear thrum through the bond.

Harry slowly turned around to face the voice.

He saw what appeared to be a woman in her late twenties with shoulder-length blond hair and soft brown eyes. She was beautiful—stunningly so—save for the fact that one entire side of her face was burned to blackened char. The burn went all the way to the bone, leaving half her face and one arm blackened and skeletal. And yet she moved freely, as if it were nothing.

"Hello, Amanda," he whispered, sick to his stomach as he realized the depths of his mistakes in this galaxy.

Amanda took another step toward him, swaying her hips—both the healthy one and the skeletal one—in a parody of seduction. She was perfectly nude, and like her face one side of her body was as perfectly proportioned as any human female who ever lived, while the other side was burned and shriveled.

"It's been so long," she purred to him. He did not move as she reached up with a charred, skeletal hand and caressed his cheek. At her touch, the runes on his skin flared from red to white hot. He hissed in pain but did not move.

"What are you doing here, Amanda?" he said.

"What do you think I'm here for?" she asked. All humor fled before an expression of fury made all the more horrifying for her burns. "You did this to me!" she hissed. "You killed us all."

"We didn't start the war," he said.

"But you made sure to finish it, is that it?" she demanded.

"You were wiping us."

"You deserved to be wiped out."

"Why? For trying to help the people of the galaxy?"

"For trying to assume roles that were not yours to fill," she snapped. "That fool mortal should never have summoned you, Harry. I was content to remain at the end of the Universe knowing you were gone forever. But he summoned you, and when you kissed that pretty little Jedi of yours, that fifth wife, I felt you. And I remembered."

She stepped close to him again, so close her one intact breast rubbed against his shirt. "Are you ready to die now, Harry? Are you ready for me to destroy your soul and devour your wives? I'm going to burn this whole galaxy, Harry, just like I burned our old one. And when I'm done I'm going to throw that damned heartstone of yours directly into the End of All Things. After all, it's the least I can do for the Forever Mage."

"I can't let you do that, Amanda," Harry said in a resigned, broken voice. "You've still weak from the war and you're injuries. You exhausted yourself to destroy our old galaxy. I'm at the height of my power. I don't need a command module to destroy you. Please don't make me. You're the last of your kind."

Amanda Rogers, the last of the Q, smiled a grim, humorless smile. "You think you can stop me, Harry? Then try."


	33. Acta Deos Numquam Mortalia Fallunt

A/N: And this is it. Review Responses to Chapters 31 and 32 are in my forums. I'll post a final review response list sometime. But this is it for the story.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Three: _Acta Deos Numquam Mortalia Fallunt*_**

Amanda Rogers was born on August 14, 2351, in Topeka, Kansas. She remembered every moment of her life, including the safety of her mother's womb and the pain and shock of being exposed to the world as an infant. Though her playmates at school never believed that she remembered the moment of her birth, and though she finally stopped telling them, her parents did believe her.

"You're special, that's why," her mother would tell her at night with a kind, loving smile. "In your own way, you are the most unique child that has ever been born."

She was seven years old when her parents died. The funnel cloud appeared out of a bright, clear blue sky almost directly over her parent's ranch house. She was playing across the road with her friend Stephanie Itzak, who pointed out the strangely shaped cloud.

Amanda stood on her friend's porch and looked. She could just see her parents step out onto their own porch as the tornado hit. She caught the briefest glimpse of her mother's face. The moment would forever be ingrained in her mind because it was not terror or pain on Delia Rogers' face at the time of her death: it was an expression of sadness and regret. She was looking across the field directly at Amanda when she died.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

At eighteen, Amanda had degrees in neurobiology, plasma dynamics and eco-regeneration. Her IQ was estimated to be a whole order of magnitude above even Vulcan norms, much less human ones, though she made sure not to do as well on the tests as she could have.

She was not surprised when Star Fleet Academy began wooing her, seeking to capture the brightest mind in the whole of the Federation. Their promise of an internship on the USS _Enterprise-D_ under the command of one Jean Luc Picard was more than even she could resist.

When she went home to pack for the trip, she paused and stared at the signed poster of Commander William Riker. It was actually an enlarged and enhanced image of him giving a speech at their high school after the Battle of Wolf 359 against the Borg. He looked so strong, confident and handsome.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

"_Amanda's question deserves an answer, Q_," Captain Picard said in a clipped, angry tone. "_You've made yourself judge, jury, and—if necessary—executioner. By what right do you appoint yourself to this position_?"

The being calling himself Q lounged indolently in Captain Picard's ready room aboard the _Enterprise_. Amanda found out to her horror that the Q killed her parents, who themselves were Q who took human form. And now this god-like being was threatening her life because of: "_Superior morality._"

Picard huffed much like Scrooge at the idea of Christmas. "_I recall how you used your superior morality when we first encountered you. You put us on trial for the crimes of humanity_."

"_The jury is still out, Picard. Make no mistake_."

The captain shook his head while Amanda stood still next to him, humbled and thrilled that this great man would defend her against a being who in essence was a god. "_Your arrogant pretense to being the moral guardians of the universe strikes me as a bit pale today. You have shown no evidence that you are guided by a superior moral code—by any code whatsoever. You may be nearly omnipotent—I won't deny your parlor tricks are impressive—but morality? No, I don't see it. I don't acknowledge it. I would put human morality against the Q's any day_."

It was a brilliant response, and Amanda could see in the elder Q—no, she could feel in the essence of his power—that he had no true answer to the brilliant, piercing truth of this mere human being.

In that one moment, Amanda loved Jean Luc Picard.

It was all for naught, though. She was Q, born of Q who took human form out of boredom and a need to understand life. Though born into human form, she had the essence and power of the Q. And with that power, the Continuum informed her, came responsibility and duty.

_Never use your power again, or join the Continuum_, Q told her.

Whether it was fate or Q himself, when Riker and the others were threatened with death, she had to act. Q appeared immediately while Picard looked at her with an expression so very similar to that of her birth mother when the Tornado hit.

"_I couldn't let all those people die,"_ she told him in a weak voice, knowing she had condemned herself to the loss of her humanity.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Six hundred linear years after her birth, the Continuum sensed a new power rising. Being the closest to humanity without the baggage of humanity hating her, as was the case of some other Q, she went to the world that was now home to this new power.

She saw wizards and witches flying on broomsticks after dragons from myth. She saw humanoids able to teleport with a word, and she saw mortals playing with the very power of the cosmos as freely as a Q, even if at a much lower level of power.

She appeared before the leader of the world and saw a figure that reminded her of the wizards from the fantasy novels she read as a little human girl. He was ancient, with a long white beard and a pointed wizard's hat. He had sparkling green eyes that showed no sign of surprise at her appearance.

"Well," he said in a surprising strong voice, "I was expecting a different Q. I must say, I am pleased to have such a lovely being as yourself come instead. I am Harry Potter. What can I do for you?"

They spoke through the night and ended with a game of chess. She completely destroyed him in twenty moves, but oddly enough he seemed delighted by it. "Marvelous!" he said. "I do hope to see you again, my dear."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Fifteen thousand linear years after her birth, the latest incarnation of the United Federation of Planets, known as the Confederaion, collapsed once again. The years of warfare that followed reduced the galactic civilization to a mere fraction of its pre-war levels, but then a new religion swept the galaxy. It was a strange religion, being as its main symbol was a giant phallus. Despite the imagery, it did not seem to be especially patriarchal; it did not call for the subjugation of any specific gender. Rather, it celebrated sex. Lots of sex, in public, in private. In large groups, or one on one.

On a whim, Amanda joined the celebration in her assumed body. When she joined them, she realized who the people of the galaxy were worshipping. She returned to very same world that she first met him on, and once again saw Harry Potter, in the same castle (albeit a greatly expanded one) sitting behind a similar desk as before, with walls glowing with techno-magical devices of every description.

"Amanda, my dear!" he said, genuinely happy to see her. "How are you?"

"The people of the galaxy are worshipping your penis."

She could not help but smile at the shade of red he turned. "Yes, well, you know how religion works. I could walk out there, denounce the whole thing and say it was nonsense, but they would ignore me. It started out with a poor child who wanted to by Lady Gryffindor, but I had already bonded. So she got back at me by starting a religion that worshipped my man-bits."

Amanda cocked her head. "Why not just give her what she wanted? Why not just love her?"

He looked at her with a sparkle in his green eyes. "My dear, to do that would be to betray my bonds of marriage. I would never do that."

"Never?"

"Never," he said resolutely.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Four hundred and eighty two thousand linear years since her birth, Amanda found the galaxy once more at war. Invaders from a neighboring galaxy had come with terrifying weapons of war that could vaporize star systems with the touch of a button.

The Milky Way fought back courageously, and at the head of the battle was a young Harry Potter. Amanda was surprised to see he only had three wives and was not at his full power, but Caldos had been decimated by an enemy attack and he lost two of his wives to the fight.

She watched over the course of ten years as Potter fought with vicious, brilliant tactics against a numerically and technologically superior species, wiping out worlds in his effort to defeat them. In the end, he was victorious, but only after exterminating the entire invading race.

Amanda visited him on Caldos as he and the shattered remnants of his people attempted to piece the planet back together again. This was the youngest she had ever visited him, and he looked heartsick as he buried yet another of his wives. Only two remained by then, and both of them were made mortally ill by the poisons of the enemy.

"Hello, Harry," Amanda said as she stepped into his office.

He looked up from a schematic with surprise. "Amanda," he said. "We could have really used your help."

"The Q don't interfere in mortal affairs."

"Of course they don't," he snorted. "Unless the mortals are doing something you don't like."

Amanda stepped back. "You are angry at me?"

"I am heartsick," he said wearily. "I am angry at the universe, not at you. But it won't matter. Dele and Rina are not going to last the year, and I'll be able to sleep then as well."

"Until next time," she said.

He sighed and closed his eyes, looking ill at the thought.

"Why do you keep fighting, Harry?" Amanda asked as she stepped around his desk. "Why do you come when they summon you? You have power enough to withstand the call."

"I have a 'saving people' thing."

"Yes," she said. "You are forever the hero, damned by your own courage and morality."

"Damned," he agreed.

He looked so tired and so lost, Amanda formed her body and hugged him. She was surprised at how desperately he hugged her back, pressing his face into her as great, terrible sobs shook his body.

She did not intend to seduce him, and yet when she leaned down and kissed him, her Q-level intellect knew what would happen next. This man was made sick by the blood he had to shed, and the loves he lost in the war to save his people. He could no more resist her than he could resist breathing.

He returned her kiss strongly, and she did not try to stop him when his still significant power caused their clothes to melt away. She gasped in pure, mortal pleasure as she gave herself to him, easing his pain at least for this brief moment. And after, when he sagged into her, she whispered into his ear, "Never say never, Lover."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Almost a million linear years after her birth, Amanda Rogers screamed in an agony that tore planets from their orbits and made stars go nova. Around her, the Continuum burned, ripped apart by the unleashed primal energies of the Universe itself. The walls of creation trembled and failed as the Mage command ships attacked the Q in their home.

Amanda, among the youngest and weakest of the Q, fled the annihilation of her race. But she did not escape without scars. She fled into the void, hoping the cold of space would dull the fire. But she was a god. Q did not heal, for Q were not ever supposed to be injured—not like she was injured. The thousands of Mage command ships moved on, and within them she could feel the mages not celebrating, but weeping. For as evil as their actions, even they could feel the true horror of the Universe's first children dying in the fires of creation and destruction. If only they knew that by destroying the Continuum, they had halved the life of the Universe itself.

In all her years of existence, never had Amanda felt the rage she felt at that moment. The agony of the fires that still burned on her face and body she poured into rage powerful enough to cause whole solar systems to explode.

She reached out with her power, stretching herself in a way she never had, and grasped onto the Large Megallanic Cloud galaxy. She poured her rage and pain into the universe itself, erasing the laws of physics that the lesser species depended on to understand the existence.

In her superior morality, Amanda Rogers brought the neighboring galaxy slamming into the Milky Way with sufficient speed and force to utterly destroy both, harnessing the massive tidal forces of their respective core black holes like a giant club to rip apart whole start clusters. The cosmic storm of destruction hurt even her, exasperating the agony she already experienced from the destruction of the Continuum.

She saw the Mage ships moving planets out of the way of the fires and plasma storms she unleashed. She wanted to stop them, but her last orgasmic spree of destruction left no power with which to strike. She struck anyway, burning her very life energy to destroy almost all of the mage ships save two—a major and minor ship.

She howled in rage when she realized the major ship survived because _he_ was aboard—Harry Potter, the one being who taught the Mages how to strike back. The one she once loved she now wanted to kill the most, but he was now completely outside of her power.

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

There is a place only Q can go; a place at the End of All Things; a place where the walls of the Universe are weakened. Around her is the absolute black of final entropy. This place drains even Q, for this is the end of existence after all galaxies have fallen apart and all stars have lost their fire. After all matter breaks down and the universe dies, there is this last place.

Amanda floats in the void of true emptiness, her presence alone preventing space from dropping to absolute zero energy. And through the weakened walls of the Universe, her mind alone can perceive another Universe just beyond. Like the universe that created her kind and saw it die, she can sense emptiness and weakness from the other universe as well. The two are both approaching the end of their cycles of existence and are drifting toward each other.

The Q often spoke of the Omniverse, but it was a misnomer. They were, like all beings, confined to their individual universe. Though they could hop dimensions and travel from the beginning of the Universe to the End, they could not leave the Universe itself, for they _were_ the universe. The Q's very energy was directed from the same primordial mix that gave rise to the Universe itself. The act of a Q trying to pierce the walls of the Universe would trigger another Big Bang, destroying that Q, the Universe, and all within it. It was the ultimate suicide, an act no Q had ever contemplated.

Until now.

Time does not exist in this place. Time is a measure of effect: the decay of an isotope; the death and birth of an organism; the consumption of matter through the process of entropy from one thing to another to another. In this place, there is no matter. There are no organisms. There are no isotopes to decay. There is nothing but Amanda. Q. And she burns with pain.

From the far distant past, though, she senses a rush of painfully familiar power. The surge is followed by a call. An invocation. A curse. Someone is calling for her, someone with power enough to reach beyond his own time even if only in spirit. And from this call she hears a name she has hated for all time.

_Harry Potter_.

She answers the call; with a thought she moves from the End of All Things to Imperial Center five billion years before, and stands in human form before the Emperor of the Coruscant Galaxy. She does not care that her human form is nude, or that her human form reflects the damage her true form received from the war.

The Emperor is an evil little man, dripping with dark power impressive for a mortal, but still just a mortal. He smiles at her with metallic teeth and orange eyes. "Welcome, Great Celestial," he cackles in his ignorance. "I thank you for answering my call."

"You called for the enemy of Harry Potter," she says. She sees a book in his hands and recognizes it as Potter's grimoire—the book of his life as recorded by all the Lady Ravenclaws through history. It is from this book that the dark little man has gained knowledge of her existence.

"I summoned Potter back to life, and in my arrogance thought to control him," the Emperor tells her. "And now he threatens the peace and stability of this whole galaxy. I do not have the power to destroy him."

"No, you do not," she said. "Not any more. He has become more than he was supposed to be. But I will destroy him."

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

She stares at Harry Potter now, whole and untouched and young as when the world was new. The fire still burns within her from when he, as an old man, struck the Continuum with Mage magic and burned the walls of creation about her people's ears. He is beautiful and terrible, glowing with the sum total power of his entire race throughout history. The runes on his body flare against the presence of her power, making him glow almost as much as she does in her true form.

He does not even realize his own power, for despite eons of life and power to challenge the gods, his mind is still finite and human. That is the ultimate insult—that this being has evolved through time to rival the Q in all but their intelligence. Without his more advanced wives, he would never have known how to even reach the Continuum, but with their knowledge and his power, he not only reached it, he obliterated it.

Her hate spreads to encompass his wives as well. Always they are there, giving him power and guidance. She reaches out to where she senses them, but is harshly rebuffed. She looks back in rage to find Harry setting his chin defiantly.

"It is not their fault," he says. "No more innocents die because of our fight!"

Amanda screams in rage. Below them, the Death Star implodes. It collapses as if crushed by a giant hand, falling into its own hypermatter reactor. The glowing ball of hypermatter, though, remains. Amanda feeds her rage into the elemental bit of power the puny humans have harnessed, and expands it until it is as large again as the Death Star was originally.

Around them, the Rebel and Imperial fleets realize something has gone terribly wrong. Ships huge to human kind but dwarfed by the ball of primordial energy break formation and attempt to leave, but it is too late.

She releases her hold on the hypermatter while at the same time striking out once more against Harry's wives. She forces him to chose, and because his power is housed within a human mind and a human soul, she knows which choice he will make.

He saves his wives while a moon-sized ball of hypermatter reacts with the normal matter of the universe in an explosion that could tear apart stars. The planet of Endor is blasted into dust. Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, his fiancée Jekria, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kyle Katarn—all are vaporized in an instant by the reaction.

Protected by Harry and the mage shields of the _Amidala_, Winter, Mara, Leia, Maris and Celeste watch in horror as millions die in a single flash of light. When the light fades, they see only the platform that once sat atop a tower that once rose from the surface of a battlestation that was now gone.

Amanda looks at Harry with one narrowed eye, while the other flickers with the fire of her rage. "There are no innocents," she snarls at him. "I will burn it all. I will kill everyone. And then I will kill you."

She strikes again, and again Harry somehow blocks her attack. In the distance, the Endor star flashes as its core suddenly, inexplicably collapses. The shockwave of the star's death throes obliterates what's left of the entire star system that survived the hypermatter explosion. Harry, and in the _Amidala, _his wives, watch as the shockwave travels much faster than should have been possible. Everything happens faster than it should-Amanda has warped time itself in her anger.

She strikes at him again—infuriated by her weakened state and his empowered one. He blocks her blow again, and in the distant night another star goes nova. He does not strike back, for even in her weakened state he knows he does not have the power to kill her. And so he grinds his teeth, ready to do what he must to defend the women he loves, even if it means the lives of a galaxy.

Amanda knows this, and it infuriates her. She raises both hands, summoning the fabric of the Universe itself. She will destroy him, even if it means destroying creation itself. Before she can strike, though, the _Amidala_ appears behind Harry. The hatch opens into the pocket of air the two combatants have created.

From the darkness a single figure steps out. Amanda regards the figure and sees the physical perfection of the human female form: tall, lithe and yet still heavily endowed to entice human men. She moves with the grace of a lifetime of Force training. She has power, though miniscule compared to the two titans.

She steps beside Harry and regards the burning hatred of Amanda Rogers. "The others told me the tale of the Raging Gods," she says in a serene, contralto voice. Even her voice is perfect. "This is she?"

"The last Q," Potter says, as if Amanda were not there. "Weakened by pain and injury, but still the most powerful, wondrous creature in the galaxy."

"And the stars we see dying around us?"

"I have to defend you," Harry says to his fifth and final wife.

Her response shocks Amanda as much as it does Harry. "No, my love, you don't."

Amanda can see that even Harry is stunned by this calm statement. Celeste Morne looks from Mage to Q and back. "I willingly gave my life to save the planet Taris. Now I see you on the verge of obliterating the whole galaxy to defend me. I love you, Harry. Even in only these few days, I have come to love you more than anything I have ever known. But I would rather see us all dead than trade us for all the life in the stars. You cannot let this fight continue. To save us is selfish, Harry. It is evil. If you save us, you will be doing the one thing that can break the bonds we share. And I will hate you for it."

Harry stares at his wife in shock while she continues to look back at him with a calm, accepting expression. Finally he bows his head, sobbing softly. "You're right," he says. "That's why it had to be you."

He looks back at Amanda. "The Q manipulate time like water. Change it so my horcrux is never found. Let these women lead the lives they should have led, and I will surrender to you. You can kill me or tear me apart molecule by molecule. But without finding me, they will never revert to mage form. Go back and undo this, and I will be yours."

Amanda cannot believe it. At last her vengeance is complete, and the request is so simple. She snaps her fingers, and time is _as it should have been._

She and Harry watch as Professor Yanosh Hastlebrandt pleads his case with a beautiful young Mara Jade in a COMPNOR uniform. "I'm sorry, professor," the red-head says. "The Empire does not provide funds to dig in trash. We cannot help you at this time."

They watch as Darth Vader's TIE advanced is knocked out of the Death Star trench by Han Solo.

"_Use the Force, Luke."_

"_Great shot, kid! That was one in a million!"_

"_I love you."_

"_I know."_

"_I am your father!"_

"_Your overconfidence is your weakness."_

"_Your faith in your friends is yours."_

"_I am a Jedi, like my father before me."_

~~Lord of Light~~

~~Lord of Light~~

Darkness. Cold. Emptiness. Harry's runic skin shimmers in the void, but the light does nothing, for there is nothing for it to reflect off of. That is, save for the burned, terrible visage of Amanda Rogers.

"This is the End of all Things," she says as she drifts closer to him. He can smell her breath; it smells of fire and brimstone and terrible vengeance. She holds up a hand, and there before them both floats the ancient heartstone of Hogwarts.

"Are you ready to die, Harry Potter? A true and final death?' she asks.

"Yes," Harry said, surprised to find it is the truth. He had died so many times he no longer feared it. He was so very tired; the idea of final rest was oddly appealing. "I really am. But before you kill me, Amanda, there is something I must do."

The fire flickers in the socket of her missing eye. "What?" she hisses.

"I have to right one last wrong. Celeste was right, I cannot allow evil to abide. To do so violates my very core. And so I must make whole this last harm I've done."

Before Amanda can respond, Harry leans forward and locks his lips to hers. He closes his eyes and pours all of his love and power into her. The same power he would have used to destroy the Death Star he uses now to heal. The bonds that are now broken by the change of time and destiny he opens again, latching onto the painfully brilliant power that is the last Q. With the bonds comes his love and passion. A hundred thousand and more lifetimes of love and tenderness he pours through the bonds into the burning agony of Amanda.

She tries to break away from it, but his power and the bonds hold her in place. For the first time in a million years the fires on her body go out. Skin starts to cover the burned and charred limbs. Her left eye suddenly reforms, though it remains closed as the two kiss.

Suddenly he is aware of her whole and reformed body pressing against his, as she is aware of his. She clutches him and wraps her legs around him, even as he enters her. Her skin glows from within and then burns away entirely as her human form collapses, and for the first time in eons a pure and whole Q shines in the universe, only to illuminate nothing.

The runes on Harry's skin flare painfully, and yet he continues to move with the white, amorphous light that is Amanda Rogers. Somehow they continue to make love, sharing energies and life force in a way never conceived by either race. He feels his magic continue to pour into her, even as her own power pours into him. The two form a complete circuit, feeding each other as they reach toward ecstasy.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," Harry says to her as he thrusts into the light that is her true form.

_I forgive you_, she responds. _I give my love you, Harry Potter._

"And I give my love you, Amanda Rogers," he said.

He feels his climax coming, and through the new bonds he shares with her, he knows Amanda is also reaching a climax of her own kind. The climax is agonizing and draining. Both of them scream into the silent void as their energies collide.

_It is time_, Amanda's mind whispers directly to his. _Good bye, my Forever Mage._

"Goodbye, my love."

White light envelopes Harry as Amanda subsumes him, and with a final thrust of power she tears through the walls of the Universe into the Beyond. Harry screams as the walls of existence shatter and his universe and the one beyond come together, brought together by the power of the last Q and the Last Mage fused together as one.

And in that split millisecond, coupled with Amanda and seeing through her mind, Harry realizes that he is not just seeing the death of everything; he is seeing its birth.

"So beautiful," he whispers.

A moment later, all existence collapses down into a two meter wide disk of two million year old stone, before exploding outward in a wave of matter beyond description; and a new Universe is born.

* * *

_*mortal actions never deceive the gods_

* * *

_sp_

_sp_

And that's it. Thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.


	34. Bonus: DLOL Chaps 1 thru 5

**Author's Note:**

This was the original version of Lord of Light. If you hated the end of the posted version, you'll hate the end of this since it's the same. However, this story has a completely different Harry and his circumstances are different to begin with as well. In some ways, it is more consistent with Forever Mage in tone and angst, but in the end was just not quite as enjoyable to read.

Consider this a bonus for those few of you left who care.

**Part One: An Old New Hope**

**Chapter One: The Witches of Dathomir**

The crew of the shuttle did not speak as they went about their business. The crew was entirely female, something almost unheard of in the Empire. Female pilots were rare; having a female pilot, co-pilot, navigator, gunner, communications officer and engineer all on the same shuttle was so rare as to be statistically impossible. There was no doubt in any of the crew's minds that they were handpicked for their current assignment.

Captain Juno Eclipse glanced over her shoulders into the open passenger area and tried not to shudder. Unlike the other crew members who didn't understand why the air seemed so heavily charged, Juno spent enough time around Darth Vader to knew exactly who and what they were carrying.

The five women in the hold all looked breathtakingly beautiful while at the same time carrying themselves with an air of savage grace. They oozed a sense of casual power and sensuality that intimidated the Imperial crew-women manning the shuttle. They were all dressed in primitive, home-spun robes or cloaks that kept them warm in the cold climates of their home world while at the same time managing to expose an inordinate amount of skin.

These were the fabled Force-strong witches of Dathomir.

And Juno Eclipse was hand-picked by Darth Vader himself to be their escort and liaison.

"The witches do not appreciate the company of males not under their control," the Sith Lord had told her when he gave her the assignment.

He did not elaborate, and Juno knew better than to ask. Lord Vader would not have dispatched a dedicated transport shuttle to Dathomir if he did not have need of those five young women.

Ashwi, the co-pilot, cleared her throat. "Captain, we're going to be arriving at the reversion point of Imperial Center in five minutes."

"Very good, Lieutenant. Please inform the passengers."

Ashwi visibly gulped before leaving her seat and walking out of the cockpit toward the back passenger area. Juno listened as the young officer stammered through her explanation. For all their power and intimidating beauty, the witches responded politely to Ashwi and thanked her for informing them.

The navicomp beeped at her. Juno pulled the lever and the shuttle reverted from hyperspace into the designated reversion point. Immediately Imperial Sector control demanded authorization codes, which she sent.

"Shuttle _Cozine_," came the brusque response, "your orders are to proceed directly to the North hemisphere, sector five point three-three-two-eight."

Juno looked to her navigator, who nodded. "Entered. It's…it's actually a garbage pit, Captain."

"Whoever said Imperial service wasn't glamorous?" Juno smiled for the benefit of the young, confused crew.

They entered the atmosphere of the planet-wide city at an oblique angle to conserve fuel and cushion re-entry. She didn't have to—the shuttle had more than sufficient shields and power to punch right through the atmosphere with hardly a shudder to the passengers. But Juno always thought such reentries were somehow inelegant. Anyone could point and shoot. She wanted to _fly_.

So the shuttle skimmed lightly over the surface of the ancient world until they sank completely within the atmospheric envelope. A thousand meters below, lines of civilian traffic crisscrossed the skies. The traffic dissipated the further north they went, until the constant cover of the planet gave way to a massive twenty-klick wide refuse pit. In the center of the pit they could see a large, black…

"Is that a hole?" Ashwi said as she resumed her seat.

"Looks like," Juno said.

"Captain," Ashwi said, "I'm reading a beacon coming from within the hole. That's where we're supposed to go."

Juno shrugged with apparent nonchalance. "They point, we go."

She brought the shuttle to a hover directly over the hole, which on the surface was a good two hundred meters in diameter. She brought the foils of the tri-foil shuttle into landing position, and brought the shuttle down in a gentle descent.

Around them, she could see the flicker of a magnetic repulsing field reinforcing permacrete walls that held the billions of tons of refuse back. They continued to drop down into the shadows of a hole that seemed not to end.

"How deep is this pit?" Ashwi said. They had already dropped easily a thousand meters and were still going.

"The beacon is getting closer," Ashwi said. Around them, the only light now came from the lights of the shuttle itself. Finally, though, they reached the bottom of the hole. The shuttle came to a gentle stop. Out of the cockpit, she stared out across a huge cavernous space lit brilliantly by a bank of high-intensity glow rods. This far down, the millennia-old refuse had been pressed into a shale-like rock by time and gravity. The cavern was again supported by powerful magnetic fields and permacrete. A line of storm troopers stood in formation on the edge of the temporary landing pad.

With a nod to Ashwi, Juno stood past the rest of her crew and walked to the passenger area.

The five witches sat side-by-side. None were older than her. In fact, Juno suspected they were still in their late teens. They had the shining beauty of youth, but also looked somewhat similar to each other. It was obvious they came from a common ancestral stock that likely had a good deal of close breeding.

"Honored guests, we have arrived," Juno said with a bow.

The five looked at her carefully, observing her light blonde hair and pale skin. All five were brunettes, with dark, powerful eyes. "Thank you," the leader said. She stood gracefully and pulled a long wood staff to her side. She slowly caressed Juno's cheek with an odd sort of benediction. "Your beauty is alien to us," she said, "but your souls tastes familiar. There is light and power in you, sister. Do not let the darkness of your masters crush it completely." She turned and nodded to the other four, who also stood and gathered their wooden staffs.

Juno led them down the entry ramp onto the surface of the cavern and was surprised to see true granite. Were they actually standing on the rocky surface of Coruscant itself?

She then looked up and felt her breath catch. Emperor Palpatine himself stood at the end of two rows of crimson guards. Darth Vader stood on one side, while on the other side stood an unpleasant-looking man with thinning hair in a blue smock that covered much of his body.

Juno swallowed her fear as best she could and led the Dathomiri witches down the path lined by storm troopers. When she got within three meters of the Emperor she stopped and dropped to one knee, following Imperial protocol to the letter.

The five witches, however, did not kneel. The Dathomiri witches did not kneel to any man. Instead, the bowed their heads in greeting. "Emperor Palpatine," the leader said. "In return for the release of our clan from Zisnj, we present ourselves to you as agreed."

"And I welcome you," the Emperor said. His voice seemed to crawl over Juno's skin, and though she did not dare look up she could tell that the five women were made uncomfortable by it as well. "It is a historic day; you should be honored to be a part of it. Walk with me."

The Emperor of the galaxy turned and started walking back into the depths of the cavern. His hulking apprentice followed, motioning shortly for Eclipse to follow as well.

"Tell me, my friends, what do you know of human history?" the Emperor began to the witches.

"We know of our own history," the leader of the coven said. "That is enough."

"Perhaps," Palpatine said without looking at them. He moved at a glacial pace. Eclipse followed along on the far side of the five women and tried not to let the skin between her shoulder blades crawl due to the silent, menacing presence of Vader behind her. "It has often been speculated that Imperial Center was the true home of the human race, and that it was the ancient Rakata who gave humanity hyperdrive technology. However, this does not explain the number of humans and near human species who have evolved from our base gene pool. While evolution can work quickly, so many divergent species speak of a long period of human evolution throughout the galaxy."

"It surprises my sisters and I that you would have such interests," the lead witch said.

"I am a student of the human condition," Palpatine said. "Humans have always had a special place in this galaxy. A destiny, if you will. Tell me, have you ever wondered why the majority of the Jedi were human? The Force exists in many species, but it centered primarily in human beings. Why is that?"

"You believe you know the answer?"

Palpatine said nothing as they continued to walk. The granite began to rise in a gentle slope, until they arrived at a promontory that stood apart of from the rest of the stone floor. In the exact center of the promontory they saw a flat, perfect stone circle.

"Professor Hastlebrandt," the Emperor said, "would you care to explain what we are looking at?"

The ugly man preened. "Gladly, my Lord! This stone is one of the oldest surviving artifacts in the known galaxy. We have determined that it is over two point one million years old. As you can see, it is perfectly round, proving that it was manufactured rather than being a natural structure. It predates even the Celestials. In fact, it may have been built by the ancestors of the Celestials themselves."

The five witches stared at the stone in fascination. Juno herself also felt her eyes drawn to the circle. It was not large at all—perhaps only three meters in diameter. However, something about the stone called to her. The effect it had on the five witches was even more pronounced.

"Yes," the Emperor hissed, his frightening orange eyes closed. "You feel it as well."

"What is it?" the lead witch asked.

"Power, dear girl," the Emperor said. "The power of the Celestials. The power of the first humans. We found other items in this dig, items that should not have survived for two million years, but somehow did. We found a text made on primitive plant-based paper that was somehow infused with a Force energy unlike any even I have sensed, more effective even than Sith alchemy, making it near impervious to time or the elements. The writing was like nothing even our historians could decipher, until Dr. Hastlebrandt here proposed a theory connecting the text to Centerpoint Station, the next oldest known artifact in space."

Hastlebrandt hovered nearby, as if just waiting for a chance to lecture. "One of the walls on Centerpoint Station has several different languages on it, including one that had several commonalities with ancient Taung. They appeared to be translations of a single message. It provided the key needed to decipher the meaning behind the language in the book. And once we did that, our whole understanding of the universe changed. We learned that the Celestials built Centerpoint Station with a specific purpose—to create star systems."

The witches stared first at the professor, then at the Emperor in shock.

"It is true," Palpatine continued, studying each sister in turn. "My best researchers examined this site in great detail. There used to be an ocean near here, and the deposits indicate extensive vegetation existed around the site. Coruscant was a living world long ago, but when we examined the carbon in the rock, my scientists found something interesting."

"Coruscant is not native to the Corusca star," Hastlebrandt said. "The original star of this world was much, closer and much younger, more so than a million years of orbital decay could explain. In geologic time a million years is not that long. The only explanation was that somehow Imperial Center was moved. We have other evidence as well that that the Celestials constructed star systems using Centerpoint Station. The Corellia System is another one we believe was constructed. So what was it about this planet that caused the Celestials to move it to the center of the Galaxy? The answer is astounding. We think Coruscant was their home world. The home of humanity and the home of the Celestials before them."

Juno was fighting a battle to keep her head down. The professor's words were unbelievable. To think that any species was powerful enough to build whole star systems seemed beyond incredible.

"Why did you bring us here, Emperor?" the lead witch finally asked.

"The text we recovered spoke of a being of great power from before even the Celestial's rise," Palpatine said. "A being of purest light and love. It is my belief that such a being would be an incredible asset in learning the secrets of the Celestials—he is a being who was beyond time and could be reborn in times of need by the love and sacrifice of five witches of pure virtue."

At the word "sacrifice" the witches immediately assumed a fighting stance with their staffs held out. This caused an immediate reaction from all the crimson guards, who as one fell brought their force pikes to bear.

The Emperor merely raised his hand. "You misunderstand, my dears. The text does not call for your lives, simply for a willingness to give your life. The sacrifice itself is one of blood given through a small cut on your palm. No one here means you harm, for indeed I believe the ritual would fail if any harm were to befall you."

"We can feel the evil pouring off you, Sith Lord," the lead witch said. "Can you blame us for doubting your words?"

Palpatine's grandfatherly smile turned to a sneer. "Your belief is irrelevant. Only your compliance is required. To do other than I say will mean the destruction of not just you clan, but your whole world from orbit."

The witches remained in a fighting stance for a moment before straightening. "As you say," the leader said with a scowl. "So this is what you wish of us? The resurrection of a long dead Celestial?"

"I wish you to open a door to the past," Palpatine said. "It must be voluntary for the ritual to work."

The five women looked at each other for the longest time, before they finally agreed.

"Assume a circle around the stone," Palpatine commanded.

The witches spread out around the circle and knelt down on their knees.

"Excellent," Palpatine said. "The language was too ancient to have a true idea of how to speak it, since only written records remain. However, it is my belief the intent of the ritual is more important than the language. Therefore you will speak the ritual in Basic."

The five beautiful young women agreed with silent nods.

The Emperor nodded to Vader. The Sith Lord stepped forward and from the folds of his cloak removed a sharp, silver dagger. "You will be first," he said in a rumbling, mechanical basso. "You shall say the following: 'In the name of Lady Gryffindor, I would die for you.' You shall then cut your hand and allow the blood to fall on the stone."

Vader turned to the next witch. "You shall say, 'In the name of Lady Hufflepuff, I would die for you.' Then cut your hand and bleed on the stone."

To the next three girls he said, "You shall say, "In the name of lady Ravenclaw. You shall be Lady Slytherin. And you shall be Lady Potter."

The witches nodded their understanding, not even questioning the strange, alien names. The leader sat up on her knees with one hand stretched over the stone. "In the name of Lady Gryffindor, I would die for you."

She cut her palm with no outward sign of pain, and let several drops of blood fall on the stone. With that done she handed the knife over.

"In the name of Lady Hufflepuff, I would die for you," the next witch said. She also cut her palm without any sign of the pain before passing the knife on. By the time the Ravenclaw witch had cut her palm, the air felt thick with a cloying sensation Juno could not truly describe. It felt like the air on Corulag after a violent lightening storm. It was as if the air was alight with electricity.

Slytherin did her part. The stone between then took on a faint pink glow, and after a moment the glow began to pulse much like a heartbeat. Finally, the fifth witch took the knife. "In the name of Lady Potter, I would die for you."

She cut her palm and blood dropped down onto the stone.

Juno risked a glance over the heads of the five witches and shuddered when she saw the glee on the Emperor's face. Vader's mask gave away nothing, but he did not move as he looked down at the now pulsing stone. She looked around but could not find the cloaked figure.

The witches gasped. Juno had no choice but to look herself as an outline of shadow formed in the depths of the stone. It was the vague shape of a humanoid in a fetal position. The shadow became firmer and more distinct with each pulse of the stone, until it breached the surface.

It came as a shock to Juno that the rock circle had somehow become viscous. The body broke through the surface coated in pink slime that clung to his naked body. The moment he fully merged, the rock solidified below him.

The five witches moved as one, acting compelled as they leaned forward and rolled the creature onto his back. Juno stared, as surprised as the rest. The Lord of Light, this being of purest love, looked very much like a typical teenage human boy. A rather well endowed teenage boy, granted, but still just a boy.

The witches, though, seemed mesmerized. "Can you feel his power, sisters?" the lead witch said as she wiped slime from his face.

"He is beautiful," the other four agreed. "He calls to us."

"His power calls to us to make us a part of him," the lead witch continued. She spoke as if in a trance. "To love him and be one with him. To bear his children and raise them to embrace his great power. I've never felt the like."

Evidently whatever the women were feeling, the boy was feeling as well, judging by his increasing erection. The erection lasted only a moment before he convulsed. He turned onto his side and began to shake violently and moan in agony.

"He is in pain. He needs us, sisters," the lead witch said. The women as one climbed onto the stone and laid their hands on him. The air crawled with power and after a moment the boy's convulsions eased.

After another moment he opened his eyes. They glowed brilliant green for one long breath before the glow began to fade. Slowly he sat up with the five women helping him. He looked at their faces in confusion for a moment. "Who are you?" he whispered. His voice sounded raw and ill-used, but he spoke clear Basic.

"We are yours," the lead witch said. "Your power calls too strongly for us to resist. We are for you."

"Excellent," the Emperor said.

The boy's attention snapped to the ancient Sith Lord and the imposing masked figure beside him. "Who are you?" the boy demanded, his voice dropping as he seemed recognize a threat.

"I am no one of consequence," the Emperor said with a dismissive wave of one pale hand. "An old man with an interest in history. Tell me, my friend, what is your name?"

The boy thought for a moment before he said, "I'm not sure. I…I can feel the memories, but they're not all there yet. But…I think I've done this before. I think…this has happened before."

"Does it bother you, not knowing who you are or why you are here?" the Emperor asked with false sincerity.

Harry shook his head. "I know the knowledge is there. I'll remember soon enough. Where am I?"

Rather than answer, the Emperor said, "So you have been revived before? What happens with these lovely young ladies who revive you?"

Juno noticed that the young man had the grace to blush. "They…they're important. They give me power and strength."

"All of them?" the emperor said with a gleeful cackle. "That is good to know, my friend."

It happened so quickly Juno did not even have time to scream. Vader surged forward, his red lightsaber humming, and the leader of the witches fell headless to the ground.

Professor Hastlebrandt screeched like a young girl before fainting dead away and falling to the granite. The effect on the boy was even more pronounced. He cried out in pain and fell to his knees as if struck himself.

The crimson guards around Juno spun their pikes to the blaster side and opened fire, careful not to hit the Emperor's prize. The witches swirled their staffs, somehow actually deflecting the first few shots, but there were too many and the witches fell. It all happened in the course of four stunning seconds.

As the last woman fell, the boy screamed once more in agony. Pure power surged out from his body. The power took the form of a bubble of white light that expanded out from him. The Emperor held out both hands and somehow withstood the power that pushed toward him, but Vader grunted as the white light tossed him away.

The guards flew back—even Juno was thrown down. When at last the white light disappeared, the boy was unconscious on the ground. The only sound was the Emperor's mad cackling. "Excellent!" he said, clapping his hands together. "Excellent. Could you taste his power, Lord Vader?"

Vader was slowly, painfully picking himself up. "Yes, my master."

"To the shuttle, then," Palpatine said.

Two stormtroopers collected the boy with a gurney that they had nearby. They covered his body in a rough blanket. The other troopers began the grisly task of recovering the bodies of the dead women.

A crimson guard kicked the professor repeatedly until the man jumped to his feet with a startled yelp. He looked around him with an expression of horror, but did not dare speak.

"Return the bodies to Dathomir," Vader ordered one of the troopers behind the Emperor. "They served their purpose well enough."

"Yes, sir!" the trooper snapped.

Juno thought the trooper sounded like one of the original clones, which meant these were members of Vader's personal battalion, which remained comprised of clones despite the move toward recruitment in order to save the Empire money. It also meant they were the most battle-hardened and experienced soldiers in the Empire.

Vader followed after his master, who was by then accompanied by the cloaked figure. "Captain," Vader said, indicating Juno should follow.

"Yes, m'lord."

She fell in behind him, her head down. Without turning back to look at him, Vader said, "I trust you know not to discuss this?"

"Yes, m'lord. I was never here."

"Correct. You have done well. Report to me in three days time—I have a new assignment for you as a pilot of my personal squadron."

"Yes, m'lord. Thank you."

They reached the shuttle and the crew looked at Juno with wide-eyes and pale faces when the Emperor boarded with his troopers and the pad holding the boy. Juno walked quickly up the ramp and motioned the crew to assume their positions.

She did not need to tell them to be quiet. They began to lift up from the surface until they cleared the refuse pit. She stifled a startled yelp when Vader stepped into the cockpit. "Captain, you are to fire a proton torpedo set at one half yield into the pit."

_Mine is not to question_. "Yes, my lord. Weapons officer, begin prepping the torpedo immediately. Fire when ready."

The shuttle released a single torpedo into the pit. Juno then pulled the shuttle into a power climb away from the site. Behind them, the torpedo struck the base of the pit and ignited with several megatons of intensity. The whole refuse pit rose by almost forty meters as the explosive force was channeled upward through the less dense material. Minutes later it settled, erasing any evidence of the hole, while simultaneously damaging the homes of over eighty thousand local residents.

**Chapter Two: It Only Takes Everything**

Darth Vader was dead, murdered by a Jedi supporter named Galen Marek.

The news rocked the Empire like nothing seen before. It was such a monumental loss that the Emperor himself addressed the Imperial Senate in the days that followed.

"A hero of the Empire, and my good friend for these many years, gave his life to protect me and others from the treachery of the Jedi," the wizened man said. "He did not question why—he fought bravely against two powerful Jedi whose intent was to sow discord among our people and weaken the New Order! Through his brave sacrifice, the more powerful of these Jedi perished. But the threat remains—the Jedi were working in concert with seditious members of this very body! Look around you, my friends. Who is missing? Mon Mothma of Chandrila, you are a traitor to the Empire! Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia, you are a traitor to the Empire! And to my great shock, Bail Organa of Alderaan, you are a traitor to the Empire!"

Yanosh Hastlebrant watched the speech from his tiny cubicle in the laboratory under the Imperial Palace while around him Dr. M'shrik and his staff continued their futile efforts to figure out why the Celestial was dying.

Hastlebrandt found himself in a humbling position in the lab. He was there as a consultant only. An aid to the palace Bursar's office informed him that he would be living in the palace for the duration of the project; that his home would continue to be cared for by Imperial staff in his absence, and that he would be well compensated.

So he woke up in cramped quarters in the worker's section of the Imperial palace, showered and did his morning ablutions, and took a ten minute tram ride from his quarters to the lab buried deep within the palace, where he shuffled to his cube to continue the translation work.

The doctors viewed him as a nuisance, some openly questioning why a _history professor_ was even a part of the project. M'shrik, a Muun who was evidently well known in medical circles, merely sniffed as if to say the question of the professor itself wasn't worth his time.

Of course, not one of them thought to ask why a book a little larger than the size of his hand would take so long to translate, especially with five translation droids working with him. It they had, they might have felt a little less sure of themselves when the book opened and pages—tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of pages—flitted past. The book was the most amazing artifact ever discovered; not only were the creators of the book able to preserve it for untold eons, but they were also able to fit a million or more pages of the book into space sufficient for two hundred.

The book told the story of a warrior of ages; a man born time and time again to fight against the forces of darkness and tyranny. Some accounts told of his victories, while others told of his failures. Some hardly mentioned him at all. Still others were in languages so alien and unique that the droids could not translate them, which meant they had no known related language at all in the known galaxy.

Sometimes, at night when M'shrik and most of his staff were gone save for the attending physician on duty, Yanosh would stand beside the stasis chamber that was the only thing the doctors could think of to keep the seemingly young man from dying.

The boy's brows were furrowed in pain even in stasis. Yanosh knew what was wrong. Having all the time he needed to translate the book, he knew much more now than he did when they performed the ceremony six months ago. The women were not just there to provide the blood sacrifice—they were required to keep him alive.

The initial blood-letting formed his body. But the _animus_, the soul which gave true life to the body, came after the bloodletting. It was pulled from wherever souls resided by the emotional ties of the women who performed the ceremony. The stronger the resolve of the women, the quicker the bonds would form, and the sooner he would come into his true power and memories. The weaker the resolve, or the fewer the women, the longer it would take. Some accounts demonstrated that he never did come into his full powerful when less than four women were available. And in one passage, when his race was once again reduced to incredibly low numbers through war, he bonded only with two women and did not even regain his full memories.

Even so, he won that particular war and saved his people. He just did so under a different name. It was a wife in a later life who wrote of the account in the book, since the first two never knew to do so.

But why would medical doctors care to listen to a mere history professor? So Yanosh kept his head down and did his work, and wondered when it would all end.

The ending came sooner than he expected in the form of a summons. He followed M'shrik and the Muun's staff into the tram and they were all escorted into the Emperor's personal audience chamber. He knelt with the others as M'shrik gave yet another report that used many long words to say they had no idea why he was dying, or what they could do to save him.

The Emperor, now just a month recovered from losing his apprentice, did not appear amused. The chill in his voice when he said, "That is not a good response, Doctor," made even Yanosh flinch.

The doctors thought they knew everything, but then again that was the way of the world. What would a mere history professor know?

He looked up and saw the Emperor's ancient, yellow eyes piercing him. "You have a thought, Professor?"

Hastlebrandt cleared his throat. _Yes, yes he did_. "Majesty, given the subject's origins, it occurs to me that we are not dealing with the purely physical, but have moved into the metaphysical. Perhaps his body is failing because his soul has not properly anchored itself."

The Muun snorted decisively. "Superstition solves nothing, Professor," he said, using the title as an insult.

"Neither does ignorance," Palpatine snapped. "Leave us, Doctor. Professor, walk with me."

The Muun shot Hastlebandt an angry glare before he and his assistants left. Hastlebrandt remained, standing only after the Emperor had stood from his throne. Like shadows, two Crimson Guards fell in behind the pair as they walked out of the private audience chamber and into a breathtaking garden. After the dimness of the interior chamber, Hastlebrandt was surprised by the brightness of the day and shielded his eyes.

"It is an interesting thought you had, Professor."

"I wish I could claim credit for it, Majesty, but it was in the text."

"How go the translations then?"

"Slowly, Majesty. We have identified almost a thousand distinct languages. Some are obvious derivations of others, while some seem completely unique."

Palpatine stared at the professor in surprise. "The book was not that large."

"Majesty, the text has over a million written pages. The best theoretical physicists from the University have studied it and determined that it is encased in some type of pocket dimension to hide the true width of it. They cannot even begin to replicate the effect. But our directive was to revive the Celestial, so that is where most resources were directed."

"I see." The two continued through the exquisite gardens until they reached the edge. "Tell me of the book. What does it say about the women from the ceremony?"

"The blood the women shed helped create his body; but the women's love binds his soul to that body. Without those bonds, there is nothing to secure his _animus_ to the body. It doesn't matter what the doctors do, he will die."

"Yes," the Emperor said. "I could feel it from the Dathomiri. They were already bonding to him."

"Majesty, if it is not above my place, could I know what it is you desire of the Celestial? It might help me formulate a course of action."

"Originally? It was study his power and learn of his people. Perhaps even secure his seed for future warriors. But now…Darth Vader is dead. I have the entire Inquisitorius begging to be his replacement, but none have Vader's power. You ask me what I desire of the Celestial?

I desire him not just to survive, but to serve, Yanosh. I need him to serve me willingly. How do I do that?"

Yanosh looked over the cityscape and felt as if he were about to fall an incredible depth. And yet he spoke regardless. "In one of his lifetimes I was able to translate, it tells of a terrible war that reduced his people to a very small number. Four women did the ceremony, but two of those women died right after. The bonds formed only between the remaining two. Though he had more power than any other of his kind, it was still only a shadow of his true power. More importantly, he never recovered his full memories from his previous lives. The account exists only because a later wife was a historian and recognized him from historical recordings hundreds of years later."

"Yes," the Emperor said, quickly grasping Yanosh's point. "Perhaps one or two women would be enough. He would have power, but not so much as to endanger the Empire. And without memories, he would be a blank page to write over as I see fit. Would the woman have to be a virgin?"

"The texts are unclear, Majesty. They use a term that would most closely translate to 'pure'. But again, to be safe a virgin might be preferable. The more important aspect is that she be…unsullied in her soul."

Palpatine chuckled. "That rules out all the women of the Inquisitorius."

"Majesty…" Hastlebrandt swallowed.

"You have done a great service for me, my friend. You have presented possibilities where your comrades present only pessimism. Speak freely."

Hastlebrandt took a deep, calming breath. "Majesty, according to the texts, he was the antithesis of Sith. He cannot bond with anyone touched by the Dark Side. We must also take into account the possibility that the bond will be too much for any one woman we choose."

"What must a girl do to bond with him?"

"Love him, as far as I can tell."

"Very well. Return to the lab. I shall contact you shortly. Advise Dr. M'shrik that you are now project leader."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Yanosh bowed and backed away from the most powerful man in the galaxy, until he was the required distance and could turn to walk away. A crimson guard escorted him out of the audience chamber, where he quickly returned to the lab.

He was not entirely surprised to find M'shrik and his staff waiting for him. "Well?" the Muun said with a sniff.

"The Emperor has said I am to be project leader from this point forward," Yanosh said. "We have developed a course of action that I believe will revive the patient."

The Muun sniffed once more. "Then it shall be the Emperor's pleasure to be waited on by fools," he said. With that, he turned and walked out of the lab. Four of his people followed him, leaving two very wide-eyed human physicians.

"Did…is he actually going to walk out on the Emperor?" the younger of the two doctors asked.

Even Yanosh, academic that he was, knew the answer. "He will try. But he will quickly learn that one does not walk away from the Emperor. In the meantime, doctors, please just continue to monitor the patient. The Emperor will be sending someone in the next few days that will hopefully assist."

With that, Yanosh went back to his translations and the two human physicians went back to their own work. None of them ever heard of or saw M'shrik again.

That night, after one of the physicians had gone back to her quarters and the other was resting, the lab door opened to admit a vision of beauty.

Yanosh Hastlebrandt stood in surprise as he recognized her. "Arica?" he asked. He left his cubicle—not having bothered yet to move into M'shrik's office—to meet the newcomer.

She was still a teenager, with flaming red hair that fell down around her shoulder in lovely rivulets. The last time he saw her she wore a plain pair of slacks and a black blouse with the COMPNOR insignia over her right breast. She served as his liaison with COMPNOR while getting funding for the dig that located the Celestial. He had not seen her, though, since the Emperor took over.

She stood now in the doorway wearing a stunning teal dress that was cut so low he could almost see her naval. She wore heels as well, and her face was made-up so perfectly it appeared she used a cosmetics droid.

However, something was not right about her face. Her eyes were wide and slightly unfocused. Her lips were parted in an expression of confusion. She looked at him and blinked. "Do I know you?"

"I..I'm Professor Hastlebrandt. You helped me with COMPNOR."

"Oh, yes. The Professor," she said. She took a step into the lab when her knee suddenly gave out. Startled, Yanosh jumped forward and caught her before she toppled over. He could not help but see her exposed breast as he clutched her side to save her.

She did not seem to notice, nor did she stop him when he surreptitiously adjusted her dress to cover the revealed flesh. His cheeks were burning, and in the distance he could see that the remaining physician was wide awake now and watching the whole thing in obvious confusion.

"Is he here?" the girl asked.

"Who?"

"My love," she said.

This was the Emperor's choice. Yanosh felt his stomach drop. When he proposed the idea, it was an academic possibility. He understood intellectually what he was saying. That a young women would essentially be sacrificed so that the Emperor could have a new apprentice. But now, facing this teenage girl who he just happened to know already and even felt a little bit of a school boy crush on, the emotional understanding hit him like a thunderbolt: they were going to sacrifice this girl. And if he said no, he would most assuredly die, and she would be sacrificed anyway.

He couldn't help but hug her and take her hand as he guided her into the lab with the stasis chamber. The other physician stepped forward. "What's going on?" she said.

"We need miss Arica…"

"My name is Mara," the girl said, still with that glazed, absent expression on her face. "Mara Jade. Did you know my first target looked a lot like you do? He was a moff embezzling money from the medical supplies for his base. He looked really surprised when I shot him."

The physician sucked in a breath; Yanosh shook his head. "Sit down, Mara. Are you well?"

"I need my love," she said as she sat on an exam table near the chamber. "Master said he was for me. That I love him." She looked at Yanosh, her thin red brows furrow. "I didn't know you could love someone before first sight. I've heard of love at first sight. Stupid, I thought. But before first sight? But my master is always right. He loves me; he is going to make me his new apprentice because Darth Vader died."

The physician slipped on a cortical circlet around the girl's head while taking a quick blood sample. "Is she drugged?" Yanosh asked.

"No, there's nothing in her veins at all. She does have a high midi-chlorian count, but that's it. She's acting like she's been dosed with hasalazapine or some other hypnotic drug."

Yanosh gently turned Mara to face him. "Mara, did your master tell you that you loved him?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Do you know him at all?"

"No."

"But you think you love him?"

The furrow between her brow deepened. For a brief moment, clarity seemed to return. "I must obey my master," she said softly. The moment passed and the slightly unfocused look returned. "Please, may I see him?"

"Yanosh, what's happening?' the doctor said.

"Teeris, we can't stop this," Yanosh said. "Go monitor the subject. Mara, please come."

She almost fell again when she slid off the table—he had to help her stand straight, such was the effect of whatever Sith magic the Emperor worked on her. Because it was obvious to both Yanosh and his doctor that Mara was being controlled by something, even if not drugs.

Still, he felt he had little choice as he led her to the stasis chamber.

"Professor," Teeris whispered, her eyes widening. "I'm reading a response in brainwave patterns even in stasis. It's like…it's like he senses her."

"I need to see him," Mara said, oblivious to the doctor. "Please."

"Mara," he said softly. Then, he added in a breath, "I'm so sorry."

He opened the cylinder. For the first time since he collapsed six months ago, the Celestial's eyes popped open to review bright, alien green eyes. Thin, bloodless lips parted as a held breath escaped them.

Yanosh stepped away so he could see the medical read outs both for the Celestial and for Mara. The two seemed frozen, staring at each other. But medically it was another story. Both their bodies told the observers everything. Mara was experiencing a surge of dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline. Suddenly a wave of oxytocin flooded her veins as well. They could see her cheeks flush, and her hands began to shake as she moaned.

"Is she…is she having an orgasm?" Teeris said.

In fact, Mara was trembling with abdominal muscle contractions. She leaned over the still prostrate Celestial and said, "I love you."

Yanosh watched as this teenage girl leaned down and pressed her lips to the Celestial's. Overhead, the laboratory lights dimmed while their monitoring equipment overloaded and simply stopped working.

"Oh my stars, is she really…" Teeris said, but Yanosh merely nodded. The two watched as Mara shrugged out of her too revealing dress to show she wore nothing beneath it at all, and climbed into the chamber. She was moaning again as, with seeming abandon, she gave her virginity to the Celestial. The moment he penetrated her the air around them took on a more intense shimmer, as if the molecules themselves were being excited by the power being released by the lovers.

In the highest level of the towers, Emperor Palpatine leaned back in his throne with a satisfied smile. On the other side of the galaxy, an ancient Jedi Master gasped as a vision of the future he had been shaping for almost twenty years burned away before a new, painfully brilliant light.

And in the laboratory, Yanosh Hastlebrandt watched under emergency lighting as the Celestial consumed everything Mara Jade was. She threw her head back and screamed as she rocked on him, but it was not a scream of pain. It was a release of emotion too intense for any one woman to contain. For the first time, they heard the Celestial himself make a sound as he moaned in time with her.

It would have been terribly erotic if Yanosh had not known exactly what it meant.

They did not need the destroyed equipment to see when the lovers climaxed. They could see it in Mara's face. They could see the agony and ecstasy overwhelm her senses as she collapsed onto the Celestial's body. She rolled off him, suddenly limp.

Suddenly the Celestial was standing, nude. His face was flushed, his lips full. In lieu of protruding ribs his stomach was flat with defined musculature. It looked as if he had somehow fed on the sex and soul of the girl now passed out in the stasis chamber. Painfully intense green eyes scanned the room until they latched on Hastlebrandt.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"My name is…"

The Celestial didn't listen as he took an unsteady step toward the stasis chamber. "Mara?" he asked. Hastlebrandt wondered briefly how the Celestial could have even known her name, or even known their language—perhaps some communication through the bond. In a trembling voice, the seemingly young man leaned over and touched the pale cheek of the girl. He looked back up, weeping. "What's wrong with her? What did you do?"

"I…I…."

"What did you DO?" he screamed. The lab exploded around him. Walls designed to withstand turbolasers shattered and blasted out of their frames. Diagnostic equipment flared and two medical droids actually exploded all together.

He had a brief crazy image of the floor as the energy wave tossed he and the physician out of the shattered lab. He looked up just in time to see the Emperor himself approaching, a sad, understanding smile on the old man's face.

The Emperor was obviously pleased, even as he fed a stream of lies to placate the Celestial. Yanosh had done what the Emperor commanded—the Celestial was saved. All it cost was the life and soul of one beautiful, sixteen year old girl.

Hastlebrandt was surprised to find himself weeping.

**Chapter Three: Dark Lord of the Sith**

"Wake, my apprentice."

The young man woke with a start but did not move. Hard lessons over the past year and a half trained his muscles to obey his mind. Harder lessons trained his mind to obey his master.

"Yes, Master," the apprentice said.

"Stand."

The apprentice stood from his sleeping position in a single, fluid motion. He did not stand tall, but then again his master was not tall either. Nor did he stay standing for long. As soon as he straightened, he fell back to one knee before his master.

"What is your name, boy?"

"I have no name, Master."

The Master nodded, orange eyes gleeful within the dark depths of his cowl. "Who do you serve?"

"I serve only you, Master."

"What is your mission?"

"To execute your will, Master."

"You have done well these last eighteen months, my young apprentice. You came to me a lost, confused and broken child. Your precious wife was hurt terribly by our enemies, because you were impotent to save her. Since then you have grown strong, exceeding my expectations. You have indeed become powerful. Do you feel your power, my apprentice?"

In the dark, featureless chamber that had been the apprentice's home for the past year, the air itself alit with shimmering power. The Master smiled, basking and gaining strength from it. "Yes," he hissed. "Such power. The time has come. You are ready, my apprentice. You are ready to take your revenge on those who harmed your lovely wife. How many Sith can there be?"

"Two, my master—the Master; and the Apprentice."

"What is the Sith Code?"

"_Peace is a lie, there is only passion._

_Through passion, I gain strength._

_Through strength, I gain power._

_Through power, I gain victory._

_Through victory, my chains are broken._

_The Force shall free me_."

"You are Sith," the master intoned. "Rise, Lord Shaddix, Dark Lord of the Sith."

Darth Shaddix stood, his face cold and emotionless. "Yes, my master."

"Walk with me, my friend."

They left Shaddix's tiny cubicle and entered a long, featureless gray hall without doors. The only feature was the turbolift at the far end of the hall. It was to this lift that the two Sith strode. Shaddix walked a step behind and to the right of his master, head bowed in respect.

The turbolift took them up kilometers a second, and when the doors slid open, they stepped into a white medical bay. All the biobeds were removed. In fact, the only object other than diagnostic droids, was a single stasis chamber. It was to this chamber the two Sith walked.

Darth Shaddix placed a hand on the glass lid, staring in at the beautiful young woman within. "I feel her, master."

"The poison has been stopped," the Emperor said. "With the help of our finest physicians, we have stopped the spread of the poison the Rebels infected her with. But it may be years before we are able to remove the poison from her entirely."

"Will she live?"

"Yes, my apprentice, even if only in stasis. I promised you when you came to me that we would do all we could to save her, and so we shall. I swear to you, my young apprentice, that she will one day be whole. Serving me will allow you to seek vengeance on those who hurt her. On the Jedi, and one the traitors who killed Darth Vader."

"We will have our revenge," Shaddix swore. Only, he did not swear to the Emperor. He swore to Mara Jade.

"It is time to introduce you to the world," the Emperor said.

Shaddix nodded and with a note of regret turned from the stasis chamber to follow his master. The two Sith left the medical back and entered the same torbolift that brought them there. The lift flew up into the highest reaches of the palace, to the extravagant reception room.

Two rows of Crimson Guards stood at attention, Force pikes at the ready. The Emperor and his Apprentice stepped past them without notice. Ahead, the myriad rainbow of the Imperial Court as one bowed before the Emperor. Hundreds of curious eyes latched onto the handsome young stranger that walked closer to the Emperor than any but his closest advisers, at least since the death of Darth Vader at the hands of his own traitorous apprentice the previous year.

The Emperor smiled indulgently within his cowl but said nothing as he made his way across the room. It was a slow, deliberate march across the room since the Emperor had another entrance much closer to the throne he usually used. Not today, however. Upon reaching the throne, he settled in and smiled as Shaddix moved to his right side in silence. The rest of the court waited in silence as well.

In a casual tone and volume that still carried to every ear in the room, the Emperor said, "Lord Shaddix, I am bothered."

"If you wish to tell me what bothers you, Master, I shall attend to it."

The courtiers shuffled uncomfortably at the title granted this new young man. Even more so in the emotionless, chilled tone of the young man's words.

"It has come to my attention that one of our highly placed officials, a man in whom I placed my trust, has not been honest."

The young man's face sharpened until his gaze cut across the room. Those who felt the gaze quickly dropped their own eyes. "Dishonesty to the Emperor is a crime against the Empire itself. Please let me know who this traitor is, My Master."

"Moff Carnac, attend me," the Emperor said.

Courtiers glanced around until a thousand pairs of eyes latched onto the pale, trembling form of one Moff Carnac. The man stepped forward hesitantly, glancing about in desperation for support. He was an older man, approaching sixty, with thinning hair and a protruding belly that gave his uniform a slightly unkempt appearance.

The Moff stopped at the required twenty paces from the throne and knelt down. "Majesty."

"I received your report that the nationalization of INCOM and SoruSub proceeded without issue," the Emperor said. "And yet I have since learned that the entire development and engineering staff have left the company; that your attempt to capture them failed spectacularly; and in fact cost the Empire a star destroyer. The staff have since defected to an organization that has openly taken up arms against the Empire. What do you say to this, Moff Carnac?"

"The report is vastly exaggerated, Your Majesty," Carnac stammered. "Only a handful of staff escaped. I have ordered their families taken into custody to ensure their return."

"That sounds like an admirable step," the Emperor said. "Except of course that their families left with them. It troubles me that you have failed so spectacularly, Moff Carnac. It bothers me that someone granted such rank would have so little prudence as to not secure the families of vital personnel before the nationalization was enacted. Now what should have been a simple process has become a difficult one. Tell me, Moff Carnac, what do you think we should do?"

Darth Shaddix stepped down from the Emperor's dais. He said nothing as he walked slowly toward the trembling Moff.

"Your mm..majesty," the Moff stammered, "even now we are tracking the families. It is only a matter of time before they are found and brought back to their posts. Only a matter of….achhh!"

His words stopped as he clasped at his neck. Shaddix walked around the man, perhaps a meter away, stalking like a predator with piercing green eyes as the moff continued to choke.

"Moff Carnac, mistakes can be forgiven," the Emperor said in a deceptively gentle, grandfatherly voice. "Had you reportedly honestly what happened, you might have lost rank, but nothing more. But to lie to me and allow the situation to become worse—that I cannot forgive. Do you agree, Lord Shaddix?"

"Absolutely, My Master," Shaddix said as he continued to circle the doomed Moff. The courtiers whispered as the choking man lifted off the floor entirely. His legs jerked as his fight for air became more desperate.

"What do you believe we should do with Moff Carnac?"

"He must die, my master," Shaddix said. "He must die screaming in agony for his slight."

"Will you do that for me, my apprentice?"

There it was—the words everyone in the room had been waiting for. Here was final confirmation of this new figure's position in the court. Above Imperial Intelligence. Above the Inquisitorius. Above the Moff College and the Grand Admirals. Here was the new Sith Lord. The new Darth Vader.

And his name was Shaddix.

"I live to serve you, my master," Shaddix said. He came to a stop before the red-faced, gasping moff. Without a gesture or a word, the moff collapsed to the floor. He crumbled into a heap of coughing terror.

"Let him know pain, my apprentice," the Emperor said. "And then let him die."

"So be it, Master."

Again there was no gesture. There was no out-raised arm that many had seen Darth Vader use when killing subordinates who failed him. This mysterious young man simply stared with those piercing green eyes.

Carnac's red, blood-shot eyes widened not at the pronouncement of his death, but at something he and only he saw in Shaddix's eyes. He began trembling, and then threw back his head and screamed. His whole body began thrashing as if under a terrible agony, even though nothing touched him. His screams quickly became hoarse, increasing in volume until he could scream no more. Pink-tinged froth flecked at his mouth and his eyes darkened as blood vessels ruptured under the stress of his torture.

Those courtiers who were new or inexperienced turned away from the horror, while those who had more experience watched with stoic faces. There was a reason the Moff was not taken care of quietly. They understood that this was not a demonstration to frighten potential traitors. This was a demonstration of, and an introduction to, the Emperor's new apprentice. Those watching shuddered in terror at the sheer power of the newest Sith lord.

Carnac's screams turned into gurgles as his heart ruptured under the pain. At last, Carnac lay perfectly still.

"Did the Moff have a family?" the Emperor asked.

"Not for long, Master," Shaddix said as he stared straight into the courtiers. All of them shied away from the gaze.

"You have done well, Darth Shaddix. You are to take the 2nd Fleet and hunt down these traitors to the Empire. If you have need of more ships, you shall have them. All Grand Admirals, Grand Moffs and military units shall abide by your command unless I say otherwise."

Shaddix spun and knelt before the Emperor. "It shall be as you command, Master. I shall hunt the vermin down and destroy them, their families, their friends, the cities that shelter them and the worlds that hold them."

"Go now, Darth Shaddix. Good hunting."

"Thank you, My Master."

Shaddix rose smoothly while at the same time spinning about. He walked toward the far turbolift in a straight line with a fast, rolling gait that screamed balance, power and control. Those in his way quickly found other places to be. They wondered at the youthful look to his face; at the short-cropped black hair.

He saw them all, but did not acknowledge them. The court knew that here was the ultimate weapon; a newly unleashed Sith Lord. Any in his way would suffer.

Shaddix walked out of the grand audience chamber with a straight back and a harsh scowl. No doubt word was racing ahead of him. After his public introduction, the whole Empire would know about him shortly. It did not give him much time to work with his fledgling network.

Eighteen months of brutal training at the hands of a gleeful sadist left Shaddix with an appreciation of just how much pain the human body could tolerate. It also left him with a deep and abiding hatred for his master.

He left the halls of the palace and stepped onto a hoverpad that overlooked the city. He did not ask where his personal shuttle would be, any more than he asked the Emperor who he would be expected to work with. In the Emperor's mind, it was all part of an ongoing test of skill and loyalty that he be thrown to the gundarks. The fact that Shaddix was the largest, most powerful gundark was simply expected.

His personal pilot, plucked from the brig on Carida eight months ago during one of his 'exercises', turned as he stalked in. "So it's official?" Captain Han Solo said.

"It's official," Shaddix said with a very un-Sith like smile. "We have two hours to get them out before the Inquisitorius moves in."

"I had our people moving before Carnac even hit the floor. The bodies are waiting for you."

"Go."

Solo flew Shaddix's black shuttle with a sure, deft hand through the bustling traffic of Imperial Center. Shaddix sat in the co-pilots seat, not willing to demonstrate just how poor a pilot he really was. Instead, he looked out over the sprawling city. In these rare, quiet moments he had, he gave into the feeling of despair and _wrong_-ness that hung constantly over the edge of his awareness.

Everything, even for the Force itself, felt wrong to him.

Ahead he saw one of the richer, more fashionable towers. Solo took the shuttle to the top pad and set her down so gently Shaddix felt nothing as he moved to the ramp. He strolled down to be met by a bowering figure in a dark gray uniform.

"Colonel Madine," Shaddix said.

"M'lord. The apartment has been prepared for you. The packages are on their way to Chandrila as we speak."

"Very good. Attend captain Solo. I'll be along shortly."

Madine nodded and walked up the ramp as Shaddix strode to the turbolift entrance. The lift was waiting for him and he stepped in and selected the proper floor.

He walked down the hall, aware of the eyes both human and electronic that followed him, until he came to the apartment door. He narrowed his eyes in concentration and _willed_ the door to explode. It did so, yielding to the rush of power the Emperor assured him was the Force.

Instantly the sound of a woman's screams and the cries of young children filled the air. The sounds were abruptly cut off before the _snap-hiss_ of lightsabers. A moment later alarms went off as a fire started consuming the apartment.

Shaddix stepped back out and walked calmly down the hall, his face set in a deadly expression. Everyone else stayed in their apartments until he was gone, and only then did they begin their evacuation.

The Dark Lord did not slow his steps until he ascended the ramp to his black-hulled shuttle and took his seat back in the front. "Your droids worked well," Shaddix said.

In the tactical seat, Colonel Crix Madine nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"Which ship did you decide on to start our adventure?"

Madine nodded to Solo, who took off. "The _Fury_ is a new _Imperial_ class. State of the art, off the dock only six months. The captain is one of Tarkin's protégés who will almost certainly fail you. His executive officer, however, is Hisal Nogdra. Nogdra definitely sympathizes with our cause, almost enough to consider defecting."

"He believes in the Alliance, then?"

"No, he just hates the Empire."

"Good." Shaddix nodded to himself. Outside the viewport, the atmosphere thinned and grew dark. "Gentlemen, if we are going to succeed we must play our roles to perfection. That means doing things none of us want to do. Are you prepared to do that?"

Solo and Madine shared a long, hard look, and then nodded resolutely. "Whatever it takes," Solo said.

"To make the Empire just," Madine finished.

"Thank you," Shaddix said, his voice softening for a moment. Then his expression hardened as he became Sith once more. "Captain, Contact the _Fury_ and advise her captain that I have selected his ship for my flag. Have the 2nd Fleet captains ready for a holo conference in two hours."

"Yes, M'lord," Solo said, all hint of familiarity gone.

When the shuttle landed aboard the _Fury_ Captain Hal Delstrom was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a very pale, very nervous lieutenant junior grade stood with two rows of storm troopers. He bowed clumsily to Shaddix. "Mmmm'lord," he managed to stutter. "Captain Delstrom regrets he is unable to meet you in person. He is in a conference with the other fleet captains and could not be disturbed."

"I see," Shaddix said calmly. "Please escort my officers and I to Captain Delstrom immediately."

"M'lord, he gave strict orders that he was not to be dist….urrrgggghhhh."

Shaddix let go of his hold on the boy's neck after only a minute. "Your captain is about to lose his command, Lieutenant. Escort me to him now."

Flushed and terrified, the young man said, "Yes, sir!" and almost ran toward the turbolifts. Shaddix followed at a more sedate pace, followed by Solo and Madine. The command deck of the ship was bustling with activity which very quickly fell into silence as the dark-clad, cloaked figure appeared. He quickly stepped past the stumbling lieutenant to the conference door, which was flanked by two ship marines.

The marines snapped to attention. The older of the two said, "M'lord, we regret that…"

His neck snapped, so loudly crewmen on the other side of the command deck cringed. As his body fell, Shaddix turned to the other man. "See to your companion. We are not to be disturbed for any reason."

The pale marine nodded. "Yes, m'lord." He then bent down and dragged his dead companion out of the way. Shaddix looked at the door a moment and the willed it open.

Inside, Captain Delstrom sat at a conference table occupied by holographic images of the other 2nd Fleet star destroyer captains. He stood, his face suddenly flushed with outrage as he did so. "What is the meaning of this….." He words cut off with a gasp as Shaddix stepped around the table. He knew his image was being captured by the holorelays in the room, as was the image of Delstrom grasping at his throat as he slowly choked to death.

"My name is Darth Shaddix, Dark Lord of the Sith, and by His word, apprenticed to his Majesty, the Emperor. I am taking personal command of all of 2nd Fleet with the direct order to pursue and destroy any rebel activity. I expect each of you to act with the appropriate level of respect my station demands. For instance…" Delstrom's neck snapped, again with shocking volume, and the captain crumpled to the floor, "…having a lieutenant junior grade meet me when I come to your ship may have deleterious effects on your career. Do any of you have any questions at this time?"

The stunned captains said nothing.

"Very good. I expect comprehensive status reports from you within the next two hours. If you think there is even a possibility I might ask about something, make sure to include it. If I have to contact you with a question, you will not like it. Captain Hisal Nogdra will be contacting you shortly with rendezvous coordinates. The fleet will be assembling before new deployment orders are issued. Dismissed."

One by one, the holograms disappeared. "I'm going to the command quarters," Shaddix said. "Have Nogdra join me there."

Solo, who had watched the exchange in silence, nodded. "And your personal effects?"

"See to it personally, Captain."

"Yes, m'lord," Solo said with a sharp nod. Shaddix and Madine followed him out a moment later and found Nogdra already waiting for them in the center of the command deck. Over their shoulders the commander could see the body of his former captain.

"M'lord," he said. "I wasn't even told you were coming aboard. On behalf of the crew, I offer my sincerest apologies for not providing a proper reception."

"I've already discussed the matter with Dalstrom, Captain Nogdra," Shaddix said. The command personnel made sure to say nothing, though Shaddix could see their startled expressions. "Join me in the command quarters."

The quarters actually rested right off the command deck for ease of access, and were comprised of a large suite of three bedrooms and a large living area. The command quarters were not the captain's quarters, which were adjacent, but were specifically for any visiting flag officers or VIPs the ship might host.

The door closed behind them and Shaddix held out a hand, his eyes closed. Around the room, odd corners sparked as observation equipment failed. "We can speak safely now," Shaddix said. He turned to Nogdra. "Welcome to the revolution, Captain Nogdra."

"Sir?"

"Have a seat. We have a lot to talk about."

Two hours later, as status reports started to pour in from the other fleet captains, Captain Han Solo returned to the _Fury_ with Lord Shaddix's personal effects, which consisted of a single cylindrical chamber draped in black and running on a repulsor sled, and a carrying case of clothes. It was all the Sith had to his name or cared about.

Meanwhile, the six star destroyers and hundreds of smaller assault ships that made up the elements of the 2nd Fleet began to assemble near Kashyyyk for a fleet-wide redeployment.

It also gave Madine a chance to meet all the captains in person, since he had already scoured their personnel records. The revolution had well and truly begun.

**Chapter Four: An Ax To Grind**

The Empire loved Darth Shaddix. A new hero emerged under the Imperial starburst. Handsome, intense. Lethal. His first overt military action was recorded for the Empire to see—the crushing of yet another Wookiee uprising.

The sight of the newest Sith Lord cutting through the ranks of the huge, deadly Wookiees enraptured billions. The holoshills captured one especially poignant moment where the young Sith saved a squad of storm troopers from being torn apart by causing the two Wookiee rebels to go flying off the edge of the immense wroshyr tree with his Sith power.

He then stood over the injured troopers with his two red lightsabers and personally held off ten more of the vicious beasts until reinforcements arrived. When reinforcements finally arrived, the holoshills lingered on Shaddix as he knelt down and actually carried the worst-injured of the storm troopers in his own arms and helped the man to a medivac sled.

Darth Shaddix was not the mechanical monster people knew Darth Vader to be. He was a living, breathing hero of the Empire, relentless and deadly to their enemies, but a protector to the Empire's children.

The people ate it up.

The second prong of the Emperor's powerful propaganda campaign hit right after the campaign on Kashyyyk—a brief biography. According to the documentary, which was presented by famed and beautiful holodrama star Wynessa Starflare, Shaddix was the child of former Jedi who fled from Jedi oppression when their forbidden marriage was revealed.

Between Starflare's emotional delivery and the dramatic re-enactments of the two lost Jedi having to flee the hateful and unyielding Order, people across the Empire were openly weeping. The audience's hearts soared with joy when the handsome actor playing Shaddix met his future wife, the secretly-born child of the Clone Wars hero Anakin Skywalker. The actors were exceptionally beautiful, made more so through judicious editing and touch-ups.

Then came the heart-breaking finale. The audience watched alongside a tear-struck Wynessa as two evil Jedi—an older man named Rahm Kota, and a younger but more powerful Jedi named Galen Marek—attempted to destroy the last vestiges of these lost Jedi by slaughtering Shaddix and his young wife. Making the story more compelling was the presence of three senators—Mon Mothma, Bail Organa and the famous Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia.

In the minds of the many watchers, the pieces from the past two years fell together as they saw for the first time the facts behind Darth Vader's death.

The drama showed Vader, frightening in his black armor, fighting valiantly to protect a tear-struck Shaddix, and a then poisoned and unconscious Mara. The Emperor stood over the fallen, beautiful young couple as well with a Force-pike from a fallen Crimson Guard. But it was Vader who held the attention of the many eyes watching.

"You've hurt them enough!" Vader roared as he cut the young Marek down, even as he himself died at the hands of the older, more skilled Kota. The Emperor then fired with the Force-pike just as more guards arrived. Kota and the Rebel leaders were forced to evacuate.

The line between fact and fiction did not exist in the Empire. The facts were what the Emperor said they were. With the biographical holodrama, Vader became a self-sacrificing hero of the Empire. Mon Mothma, Bail Organa and Garm Bel Iblis became among the most vilified names in history, and Rahm Kota became public enemy number one.

The end of the biography was a brief interview with the Emperor himself. "Shaddix is justice, my dear Wynessa," the Emperor said with a solemn expression. "Justice for his beautiful wife; for his friend Vader, who died to save him; and finally for the memory of all those betrayed and murdered by the Jedi and their accomplices. He is a force that will shake the Empire to its foundations, and make us all stronger for it. And most importantly, he is my friend."

The drama became the most viewed document in the history of the holonet.

Darth Shaddix was a true hero of the Empire.

"Touch down, break in and wreck the place," Cadet Leader Kyle Katarn muttered to himself. "Sure, no problem."

"Talking to oneself is a sure sign of stress, sir," Sergeant Major Hong said. "It won't go well on your exercise rating."

"They can flunk me, so long as I get us off this rock," Kyle said.

AX-456 was a large asteroid floating in the belt of the Ax System in the center of the Barma Sector. Imperial Intelligence reported that the Rebels had a comm center established in the center of the asteroid and were planning on blasting the nearby systems with illegal psyprop.

General Rom Mohc back at the Academy decided this would by Katarn's Omega Exercise to determine if he would serve the army as an enlisted stormtrooper, or as an officer. He led three squads of four storm troopers each into the Rebel base under the surface of the asteroid, in what was supposed to be a quick east lightning raid, and found it was anything but.

They used standard tactics by blowing the door, firing in two stun detonators, and then they swarmed the door expecting to find a few stunned rebs.

Following imperial protocol drilled into his head after three year at the Academy, Kyle waited until the first squad was through before he jumped in as well. He came through just in time to see the head of Trooper Dalence Istir explode before a heavy blaster rifle bolt. Bits of armor and bone pinged against Kyle's own armor as he ducked and ran for cover that did not exist.

He peeked up, and in a split second saw that they were in a snipestom. The rebels were smart—crates and anything else that could be used as cover was moved away from the entrance, leaving the incoming storm troopers nothing to use as cover. Two more troopers were already on the floor dead, and his men were still coming in.

To his left he saw an unlit, seemingly undefended corridor . To his right he saw nothing but stone. "Make for the corridor!" Sergeant Hong cried over the enemy fire.

He did not know why, but Kyle knew with absolute, gut-wrenching certainty that if they went down the corridor, they would die. "Negative," he shouted, speaking his first command since they rushed the door. "Blast the ceiling, collapse it on the rebs!"

The surviving nine troopers obeyed as they were trained. Ignoring the incoming fire as best they could, they started firing their blaster rifles into the ceiling directly over the head of the hunched rebels.

The sound of the rebel screams was gratifying when the ceiling collapsed on them. In the sudden silence, Kyle stood up and took a quick headcount. Four men dead, a full third of his force.

The respite did not last long—more reb soldiers emerged from the shadows of the corridor. They yelled as they charged, but Kyle looked past them at the two additional rebels who were lugging something large and black from a previously hidden emplacement.

A heavy e-web. If they got that set up, Kyle and his people were dead.

"They sprung the trap too soon!" Kyle said. "Take the corridor before they get that e-web up!"

Sergeant Major Hong saw the placement and slapped another trooper. "What the heck are you waiting for, Briggs? An engraved invitation? Get out there and kill some rebels!"

Briggs charged forward with the rest of the troopers and met the running rebs head on. The rebels pulled out short virbo-blades that could punch through armor easily.

Kyle did not hesitate or flinch back—they did not have time. He launched himself feet first and kicked the face of the reb in front of him, whiel spinning in mid-air and firing point-blank into the temple of the reb trying to take out Hong. He felt in a tangle of limbs on top of the reb, spun off and then slammed an armored elbow into the reb's nose.

The reb's nose shattered and sent bone fragment flying into the man's brain. He convulsed, but Kyle was already on feet. He spun out of a knife-jab, used the butt of his rifle to knock the attacker into a wall while firing at a second. His first attacker grunted under a blaster-bolt from Hong and Kyle continued toward the two men setting up the e-web.

One of the two looked up and fired his pistol. Kyle ducked the wild shot and returned one with much better accuracy. The reb fell back clutching his burned chest. "No!" the remaining reb cried in frustration, right before Kyle vaped his face.

He reached the e-web. It was just coming on. "Down!" he shouted over the stormtrooper secured channel. The surviving troopers dropped, leaving a handful of surviving rebs exposed for the explosion of repeater blaster fire that saturated the hall.

"Okay," Kyle said in a shaky voice. "Headcount; who's left?"

Six troopers clicked back, plus Hong and Kyle himself. Half his men were dead. Hong took off his helmet for a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Why didn't you lead us down here when we first came under fire?"

"Just a feeling," Kyle said. "It was too easy a way out."

"Well, that feeling saved our lives," Hong said. "They must have had the e-web just around the corner. The crossfire would have wiped us all out in a minute."

"Lucky," Kyle said modestly. "If you can call it that."

"Missions not over 'til the enemy's dead, or we are," Hong said.

Their helmet comlinks beeped. "Strike force, this is _Imperitor_. We have detected rebel ships inbound. We are moving to intercept, but they are going to reach you first. Be advised."

"Read you, _Imperitor_," Kyle said. He took breath. "So, how long as the mission been so far?"

"I have about ten minutes since arrival, Cadet Leader."

"Ten minutes, and I lost half my men. Wonder what that's going to look like on my rating."

"Like you saved half your men from a trap that would have killed us all," Hong said. He pulled his helmet on. "Okay slugs, this isn't over. Two by twos, full alert! There are still rebs on this rock!"

They continued down the unlit corridor, fully aware of the fact that the increasing amounts of dust was cutting down on their visibility. They didn't walk five minutes before they turned a corner and found themselves staring at twenty rebel troopers—twenty hurt, unarmed rebel troopers.

"Freeze!" Kyle ordered.

The rebels, all of whom were covered in suit and dust from the collapsed ceiling, and who were visibly mauled by the collapse, slowly lifted their hands into the air. Some were not even in uniforms. That one, a young woman with a soot-stained face and dark hair tucked behind her ears, stood on an obviously injured leg and held up both hands.

"We surrender," she said. "We have injured."

"There are twenty of them," Hong said over their secure line. "We don't have enough people to take that many prisoners. We have to grease them before their reinforcements arrive."

When Kyle didn't immediately answer, Hong took that as assent. He and the six troopers knelt down, ready to fire. Kyle was watching the woman, and saw the look of fearful resignation that crossed her strangely familiar, beautiful face.

The whole asteroid suddenly shook under the impact of a docking ship. The reinforcements were there.

Kyle removed his helmet and was immediately assaulted by the smells of blood and dust. "Negative on greasing the rebs, Sergeant major," Kyle said clearly.

The woman's eyes popped open and she stared long and hard at Kyle.

"Sir?" Hong said aloud.

"There's been enough killing today." He turned back to the woman. "Where was your fall back position?"

With a shaky hand, she pointed back to a door in the corridor the troopers just left. "Cafeteria."

"Sergeant Major, take the men and fall back to the cafeteria and fortify our position. Make sure you grab the e-web."

"Sir?"

"The rebs can't keep this base, Sergeant. We know about it and we have a star destroyer en route. Mission is accomplished. Let's make sure we live to enjoy the victory."

The sergeant glanced back at the rebs, then back to Kyle. "Fall back!" he ordered.

Kyle started backing up. "With all due respect, ma'am," he said to the rebel agent, "I really hope I don't see you again. I'd hate to have to be the one to kill you." With that he joined his men.

The cafeteria was smaller than the briefing room on the _Imperitor_, but it would have to do. Already the troopers had the two tables in the room on their sides. All of them pooled their thermal detonators behind the makeshift barrier, which also consisted of the food box that had been tipped onto its side.

"I only have one order for you!" Kyle said as the sound of reb troopers approached. "Survive!"

The door blew open, and the first influx of rebs was met by one of their eight detonators. The explosion ripped one wall down, but also killed the first four rebs through the door and forced the rest to take cover. It was through that hole that Kyle could see the woman helping her fellows through the hall toward the evacuation ship. Some small, insane part of the cadet leader hoped she made it.

The second wave of rebs met the e-web and died as fast as the first. There was not a third wave. Having evacuated their injured, the rebs began a steady retreat. Kyle heard a distant shout of, "The first ship is away" and knew that, whatever her name is, the rebel woman was gone.

"Sergeant major, I think we're going to make it," Kyle said with a relieved sigh.

"Sir?" Kyle looked at the trooper who spoke, and then down at the floor a few feet from his boot. Hong was dead, shot between the eyes. His helmet was melted partially away to reveal one wide-opened, blood-soaked eye.

The twenty-year old cadet leader knelt down beside his mentor. "Damn," he whispered.

"Sir, the rebs are coming back!" another trooper called.

"Brace up, man the e-web!" Kyle called. He knelt down behind the food box and took aim. Only, the rebs did not attack them. Rather, they ran past the cafeteria at full tilt while firing haphazardly back the way they came, at least twenty men and women.

A moment later a shadow moved past the door with two glowing red swords. He paused at the door and seeing the troopers, said, "Who commands?"

Responding to the voice of authority but staying under cover, Kyle said, "Cadet Leader Katarn, sir!"

"Omega exercise, cadet leader?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well, stay put. If any rebs make it back, take them out."

"Sir, yes sir!"

The shadow disappeared. A moment later Kyle and the remnants of his squad heard screams and blaster shots, but no reb soldiers came past them. A minute later, the shadow returned and stepped into the cramped cafeteria. In the better lighting of the room, Kyle saw who it was and snapped to attention.

"Lord Shaddix, sir!" Kyle said.

The other soldiers snapped to attention behind him.

"What happened here, Cadet?"

"Intel called for a lightening raid, sir. The place was more heavily fortified than planned for. We were able to fight our way through, took this e-web, and fortified when our ship warned of additional rebel reinforcements."

"Casualties?"

"Sergeant Major Hong and six troopers, sir!"

Shaddix stepped further into the room. "I counted almost fifty bodies when I came in, Cadet Leader. You may have lost have your squad, but those six men took out fifty under your leadership. Consider your omega exercise a success. Katarn, was it?"

"Sir, yes sir."

Behind Shaddix, more storm troopers arrived. "Cadet Leader Katarn, you are to report to the _Fury_ with for debriefing. Congratulations on surviving the day."

Kyle tried not to stutter. "Thank you, m'lord."

Shaddix nodded before turning to leave the room.

"Stang," one of the troopers said.

"You said it," Kyle muttered.

An hour later, he stepped off the transport shuttle onto the decks of the _Fury _and was met by a Navy lieutenant colonel. As a storm trooper, Kyle officially reported directly to the Emperor, and so by protocol he did not salute. He did however, snap to attention. "Cadet Leader Kyle Katarn reporting as ordered, sir."

The lieutenant colonel smiled drily. "Relax, kid. No parade review here. Come on."

"Yes, sir."

The Navy officer walked Kyle through the ship—it was actually his first time on one of the big _Imperial_-class ships. The hangar alone was large enough to stage an entire legion of storm troopers. Finally, after several turbolift rides, the two arrived onto the spacious command deck.

The captain nodded to the Navy officer and gave a quick look at Kyle before nodding briefly. Kyle nodded back, a bit confused, until they reached a conference room off the command deck.

Darth Shaddix sat at a conference table inside the room, alongside a full colonel. Both men stood as the lieutenant colonel entered with Kyle a step behind and to the right.

"Solo," Shaddix greeted the lieutenant colonel. "And Cadet Leader Katarn. Please have a seat, Mr. Katarn."

"Thank you, M'lord." Kyle waited until all senior officers and personnel were seated before sitting himself. He was still in his armor, though he kept his helmet off.

"I'm doing your debrief because the captain of the _Imperator_ reported that at least one Alliance vessel escaped. I'd like to hear your report as to what happened."

Kyle gave them a precise accounting of everything that happened. Though he hesitated in his mind to do so, he even recounted his decision not to kill the rebel captives.

Shaddix listened the entire time with his fingers in front of his face. The unnamed Colonel also listened without a word, while Solo took notes on a holopad. When Kyle's report was done, Shaddix said, "What made you decide to leave the rebels against the advice of your sergeant major, Cadet Leader?"

"The mission was accomplished within the parameters set for us, m'lord," Kyle said. "I also knew the rebs had reinforcements coming. With the completion of my mission, my primary concern was the preservation of the men under my command. I believed then, as I do now, that the gratuitous killing of injured and unarmed prisoners would have encouraged retaliation on the part of the incoming reinforcements. As it turned out, we were able to hold off a token attack and survived the day, and the facility was destroyed."

Kyle finished and waited under the intense stare of the Sith. He felt a strange pressure for a moment, but it was soon gone. The unnamed Colonel cleared his throat. "Cadet Leader, my name is Colonel Crix Madine. I am very sorry to inform you that, as we were coming to assist your unit, Sulon reported rebel attack. Several civilians were killed, including Morgan Katarn. He was your father, correct?"

Kyle reared back as if struck. "My father…"

"He's dead, Kyle," Shaddix said. "I'm sorry."

Being given sympathy from a Dark Lord of the Sith was pretty low on Kyle's expectations for the day. "I don't understand, m'lord. Why would the rebs attack Sulon? There wasn't an Imperial presence there at all. And Dad's farm was far from the city."

"It is interesting, isn't it?" Madine said. "More interesting is this—Morgan Katarn was a rebel sympathizer. More than that—he actively fed them information and food supplies. It was not enough to make him a priority target, but it seems odd the Rebels would target one of their own."

"I don't understand…."

"The Empire killed your father, Kyle," Shaddix said. "In particular, a member of the Inquisitorius who was looking for Jedi relics killed him personally. They painted Rebel sigils on their fighters, but it was clearly an Imperial attack."

"The Inquisitorius routinely frames the rebels for local attacks aimed at hunting down Jedi artifacts," Madine said. "Even I was surprised by the sheer number of attacks."

"Sir," Kyle said carefully, "why are you telling me this?"

"Why did you really spare those rebs, Katarn?" Shaddix demanded. He leaned forward, his green eyes blazing.

Kyle swallowed in a dry throat and answered before he could think about it. "I didn't want to kill them."

Shaddix leaned back. "Solo?"

The lieutenant colonel turned to Shaddix. "Four years ago I was given an order to skin a Wookiee alive. I understand their language, and knew that the Wookiee was just trying to save some children. I refused. We were both punished by being placed on manual labor detail on Imperial Center. Chewbacca put up with as much as he could then finally turned on my CO. Nyklas was going to shoot him, but I stunned my CO first. I helped Chewbacca escape and was court-martialed. Spent two years in the brig pending a dishonorable discharge before Colonel Madine pulled me out, re-commissioned me, purged my records, and gave me command of Lord Shaddix's personal escort squadron."

"I do not believe in an Empire that condones the murder and torture of innocents," Shaddix said. "I do not condone any government that callously murders the family members of even its own soldiers. And I am gathering around me those who feel the same."

"To do what, sir?"

"To make the New Order all that it should be," Shaddix said. "The rebels don't have the answer, and I have my own reasons to hate them. Bringing back a corrupt, broken democracy won't cure anything. As with life, it requires a balance of authority and representation. A constitutional empire in which not even the Emperor himself is above the law, and all citizens regardless of rank are granted the same rights. No more slavery. No more murder. But we can't do that with an open rebellion. At least not the way the rebels are doing it."

"Lord Shaddix has been named the Emperor's apprentice," Madine said. "While there is no actual order of succession established, most believe that the Emperor's apprentice will succeed him upon his death."

Kyle's heart was thudding in his chest. "You're talking treason."

"Yes," Shaddix said simply. "You are due two weeks leave following your graduation next month. Use that leave to think about it."

"You aren't worried I'll tell someone?"

"Consider it an act of faith on our part," Shaddix said. "Dismissed, Cadet."

Shaking inside, Kyle stood, snapped his heels together, and left the room.

/\/\/\/\/\

"Maybe you should lay off the drink, friend," the Sabbac player said to Kyle five weeks later.

Kyle stared at the man with a sneer. Smooth dark skin, light-pen thin mustache, a penchant for blue capes. He oozed smooth, and from the ladies hanging off his shoulders, others sensed it too. And yet, for all that Kyle wanted to hate the man, he found he couldn't.

"Not hurting anyone," he said.

"Only yourself," Lando Calrissian said with that damned irritating smile of his. "The _Star of Empire_ is a luxury cruiser for people to relax, my young friend. Not drink themselves into oblivion. You can do that back at the bars on Carida."

Kyle blinked in surprised. "How'd you know that?"

"A player always knows. You move like a soldier. Now, go back to your quarters, sleep it off, and tomorrow try having some fun. You're a handsome man, and you look like you have a future. I'm sure some nice ladies will be glad to keep you company."

One of the ladies on Calrissian's arms gave Kyle a long, appraising look. "Definitely," she said.

"Fine," Kyle muttered. He stumbled away from the sabbac table, leaving half his money and most of his pride. As much as it pained him to admit, Calrissian was right. The drink wasn't helping. Nothing was helping.

The communiqué waiting for him on Carida was short and abrupt, in typical Imperial manner:

_To: Cadet Captain Kyle Katarn _

_Re: Rebel Activity on Sulan_

_It is with regret that we must inform you that the city of Baron's Hed on Sulon was subject to a surprise attack of Rebel forces. The attack resulted in the death of two hundred forty three civilians, including your father, Morgan Katarn._

_Please accept our sympathies on your loss._

_End Transmission._

And that was it. No extra leave. No delivery of personal affects. No acknowledgement of any kind that the last of his parents was gone. His mother had died shortly before he entered the academy, and now his father was dead. Just like Shaddix said.

It was a testament to how much he drank that he did not see and avoid the woman when he turned the corner. His situational awareness was usually much, much better than that. Nonetheless, he hit her head-on and both went down in a tangle.

"Sorry," he started to say, but then his words stumbled over themselves as he saw who was splayed on the ground beside him. "You!"

It was the reb. The girl from AX-456 who felt so oddly familiar. All thoughts of treason or his father's death fled before honed reflexes. Without hesitation, Kyle hit her.

Hard.

She cried out in pain and rolled away with surprising dexterity right into a mass of legs. Katarn climbed unsteadily to his feet, and as he did so he saw that the men around her were not just passengers. As Calrissian said, a player knows. These were soldiers.

"Not nice to hit a lady," one of the men said with a threatening growl.

All worry of the future burned away. Kyle realized that what he really wanted at that moment was a good, brainless fistfight. "Go frak yourself," he said. He attacked without hesitation, and in seconds found himself in just the kind of fight he needed. The four men with the Reb were trained at least as well as he was. On his side he had strength, skill, and one of the highest hand-to-hand combat training ratios in the Academy.

Against him was the fact he was so drunk he could barely stand.

Even drunk, he had one man flat on the ground in a second clutching his stomach with a moan. The other two were made of sterner stuff and the fight dragged on until the adrenaline of the fight gave way before the soporific effects of the drink and Kyle did not duck in time.

He saw a flash of stars and heard a strange ringing in his ears before he went down.

He woke up later to the shock of cold water. His hands were tightly secured behind his back. He was sitting on an overly plush couch that actually made it harder to get up than if it had been a proper chair. The room was empty save for the Rebel woman, sporting a nice bruise on her cheek, and a large holopad.

"Before you open your mouth again," the woman said, "there is something you need to see. When you're done watching, we'll talk."

Kyle just glared, wishing Sergeant Major Hong was there. But then the lights when down, and the holopad began displaying scenes of a battle. It was Barons Hed, his home.

He watched as Imperial forces with crudely drawn rebel sigils swept through the automated defenses of the Katarn Estate. He watched as Jerec, a known Inquisitor of the Empire, tortured his father, and then severed the man's head with a lightsaber, moving the blade slowly so that Morgan would feel it for an eternity.

The last image was of Morgan Katarn's head on a stick.

The holopad deactivated, leaving the woman sitting on a chair across from him, looking at him intently.

"The Alliance to Restore the Republic does not attack civilian targets," she said. "We never have, we never will. The civilian casualties reported on the holonet for the past year have all been Jerec or another inquisitor hunting down Force-potentials or wiping out Alliance-sympathizers. Your father was one of ours. He wasn't a soldier, but he helped pass information and what supplies he could. We would never kill him, because he was our friend. Think about that, Kyle Katarn. Think long and hard. And when you're done thinking, you'll see me again."

She looked at him oddly when Kyle Katarn started laughing. He continued laughing—a bitter, broken laughter—as she and her escort of soldiers disappeared.

When his leave ended, he contacted Colonel Crix Madine and requested a transfer. It was approved within the week.

**Chapter Five: Dantooine**

"I was sure I got through to him!" Ors said to her commanding officer once their sources confirmed Kyle had gone to Shaddix. "I was sure of it."

General Dael Vernan, head of Alliance Intelligence, listened as his best operative continued to rant. Jan rarely vented, and when she did so, it was important. He knew that she had a personal interest in the young storm trooper who saved her life. The fact that his father was murdered by the Empire should have been sufficient to make him defect. In fact, they most often only approached officers who had lost family.

But what Jan Ors had failed to take into account was what Vernan was starting to call the Shaddix Effect.

The Shaddix Effect was what happened when a man walked into an apartment to murder a woman and two young children, and yet still be loved by the masses as a darling hero of the Empire.

The Shaddix Effect was losing fifty of the best commandos the Alliance had in the course of ten minutes, without a single enemy blaster being fired.

The Shaddix Effect was putting down a revolt on Kashyyyk not with blunt force, but with an officer who speaks Shyriwook.

The last was known only to Vernan, Jan Ors and the Executive Council of the Alliance. In fact, Vernan suspected not even the Emperor himself knew everything that transpired. The holos made it looked as if Shaddix waltzed into the middle of the fight and slaughtered the savage Wookiees single-handedly. What the crews did not show was that his fighting occurred in the first half hour of his arrival to halt the Wookiee offensive. He then sent his personal pilot to the Wookiee lines for parley, something no Imperial had ever done before.

In parley, Shaddix laid down the law, but apparently applied that law to both the Wookiees and the planetary Governor.

In a near revolutionary move, Shaddix instituted a work visa program to replace the current and accepted Imperial practice of slavery. All Wookiees held off planet were to be identified and tagged with a cuff to track their time. After seven years of service, which the Empire now classified as indentured servitude to pay reparations for the many Wookiee revolts, the Wookiees would be returned home. No Wookiee would be selected twice, and so long as all Wookiees put in seven years of labor, all Imperial planetary bombardments would stop.

Even more so, Shaddix ordered that all Wookiees received compensation upon dismissal. It was a pittance compared to seven years of labor, but more than any slave could have expected. And when considering Wookiees lived to be four to five hundred years old, seven years was not long.

The most amazing thing, though, was when a month later the first Wookiees returned home with credit chits in their pouches. Almost overnight, one of the Empire's most consistent trouble spots was pacified—not with brute force—but with negotiation.

Vernan's analysts told him the Empire was actually _saving_ credits now, using Wookiees as indentured servants rather than slaves. Those Moffs who rejected Shaddix's deal were visited by the Dark Lord in person and quickly reversed their positions.

Darth Shaddix was dangerous to the Alliance not because he was evil. He was dangerous because, at least on the surface, he seemed fair. It was difficult for the Alliance to vilify him when the Empire adored him. It was even harder for the Alliance to recruit, when the leaders of the Alliance were themselves vilified to the point that Bail Organa had to actually leave Alderaan, a planet that worshipped the Organa family for centuries.

As if sharing his thoughts, Jan stopped and said, "It's all that blasted Shaddix's fault!"

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Vernan said.

"You believe any of the holodrama?"

"Not in the least," Vernan said. "Remember, our people were there. Shaddix was not there, nor was that supposed wife of his."

Jan slumped into a repulsor chair by his desk and stared into the distance. "The man does not act like Darth Vader."

"Oh, he's killed a few captains when he cleaned out and re-organized 2nd Fleet. He was very selective in his targeting, though. Most of the men killed were vocal followers of Tarkin's doctrines."

Jan's eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Dolson, Fretik, Markos. A few more that we've had pegged as brutes for a while now. We don't' have dossiers on everyone, but the officers he has close to him were all slated for recruitment."

Vernan watched as Jan's brilliant mind started to go into overdrive. "Are you thinking we should contact him directly?"

He opened his mouth to answer when the air cracked before the harsh scream of the alert clarion. He slapped his desk comlink. "This is Vernan, report!"

"General," the command center of the base said, "hyperspace sensors report a massive grav flux on approach. Patrol reports multiple targets heading right for us. General Dodonna has ordered an evacuation of all personnel."

"Damn!" Vernan said. "How did they find us?"

Jan was already on her feet and running out of the office. Vernan turned to his personal AI and quickly dumped all the intelligence files they had into a pair of crystals before wiping the droid brain's memory.

By the time he emerged into the Intel Center, Jan already had his staff doing the same, dumping data into disks and crystals before wiping the data. "We're not going to have time to take all the equipment," Jan said. "Take what you can and go!"

Data Analysts grabbed their terminals and ran out, most heading toward their personal quarters to grab what else they could. Jan kept her personal equipment on her ship. "Need a ride, General?"

"I might at that," he said. The two left the center just in time to see General Jan Dodonna running toward them with their resident Jedi, Rahm Kota, at his side. "It's Shaddix!" Dodonna said. "He's brought two attack squadrons, three star destroyers and a hundred assault ships!"

Which proved in Vernan's mind that this was not just a scouting party. "Then go!" Vernan said. "Get the council out."

The quick-set building that housed the Alliance rumbled as the first transport ship took off. He ran outside and saw the shield flicker off long enough to let the beetle-shaped transport lift off.

In the distance, Dodonna was directing the leaders of the Alliance into their escape ship—Captain Juno Eclipse's heavily modified _Rogue Shadow_. Dodonna himself would stay to supervise the evacuation, but it was a good idea putting them on Eclipse's ship. It had the best chance of slipping past any blockade.

Any further thoughts were interrupted by an odd, floating sensation, interrupted a moment later by the hard impact of a wall. He fell to the ground, stunned, and realized something had blown him twenty feet through the air.

That's when he caught his first sight of the enemy.

Shaddix was there, alone, on their base. Staring at him, and seeing the rage that burned in his eyes, Vernan knew without doubt that the Alliance could never recruit this man.

The Dark Lord moved like a shadow of destruction through the startled soldiers that went to meet him. Vernan carefully lifted himself up on one knee and saw more green-armored commando troopers breaching the perimeter. Vernon, and no doubt Dodonna himself, had been expecting a full armored assault. AT-ATs were the normal Imperial method of attack.

Shaddix opted for a direct manual assault, and as a result was already inside their defenses. Moreover, the way he was cutting through the troops, Vernan realized that not only was Dodonna in real danger, so were Mon Mothma, Bail Organa and Garm Bel Iblis.

Salvation came in the form of a blue lightsaber and a yell of, "Shaddix!"

Imperial commandos fell before Rahm Kota's blade as the aging Jedi Master cut a swath through the assault. "He's mine!" Shaddix yelled. "Secure the perimeter!"

Rahm Kota fought with skill and panache as he made his way through the assault line, until at last he drew even with Shaddix.

The rage in the Dark Lord's face was palpable. "I've waited a long time for this, you murdering bastard," Shaddix said. "Do you sleep at night, knowing what you did to her? To us?"

Kota looked confused for a moment, but a light went off in Vernan's mind. More than a light—a pulsing beacon strobe. _Shaddix believed his own story._

He felt hands on his arm and looked up to see Jan pulling at him with a pair of SpecForce operatives. "Come on!" she urged, angry now.

Vernan pushed himself to his feet. The operatives were already trading fire with the Imperial commandos. He quickly looked down the length of the base and saw more commandos trading fire with and quickly burning their way through the base security perimeter. Suddenly the largest hangar at the end of the tarmac opened up as a flight of the new INCOM T-65 X-Wings the Alliance obtained with the defection of the INCOM staff.

The fighters flew into the air and then immediately swooped back down on the base, viciously strafing the Imperial forces.

Vernan saw motion on the surface and saw Kota briefly blown off his feet by a burst of air. A moment later Shaddix pointed at an abandoned hoversled, which launched off the tarmac with the speed of a missile, and hit one of the gleaming new fighters right in its port engines.

The whole port side of the fighter exploded and sent the central fuselage spinning into the ground just beyond the base perimeter. Kota regained his feet and attacked seconds later, distracting Shaddix again.

"Dael, we've got to get moving!" Jan said.

"Fine, let's go!"

The strafing run bought the off-balance rebels the time they needed. He, Jan and the two SpecForce troopers reached her personal ship, the _Moldy Crow_, and climbed on board without hesitation. Through the cockpit he saw the _Rogue Shadow_ also lifting off, only to be met by an entire flight of TIE fighters.

The TIEs were not atmospheric superiority fighters, but in sufficient numbers even bricks could be dangerous. Four hundred was a dangerous number. The X-Wings, which actually were designed for both atmospheric and space combat, were vastly superior to the TIE fighters, but were also outmanned twenty to one.

The _Shadow_ pulled into a steep climb, pushed by some of the most powerful thrusters made. Jan for her part threw the _Crow_ into a barrel roll while releasing a quick-fire seismic charge.

The device exploded with ear-shattering power. The concussion wave of the explosion knocked several TIEs from the air, and even flattened those forces still on the ground. They quickly made it into space, only to be met with a near solid wall of capital ships. In the distance, they were just in time to see one of the escaping transports explode under fire from a pair of _Nebulon-B_ frigates and a heavy cruiser.

"Stars above, did anyone get through?" Jan said.

Ahead, Captain Juno Eclipse flew the _Rogue Shadow_ like a being possessed. Flanked by a pair of clearly out-classed X-wing pilots and chased by two hundred TIE-fighters, the _Rogue Shadow_ danced around turbolaser fire as if anticipating every shot. The last time Vernan saw flying like that was in the last large battle of the Clone Wars, when he saw on the scopes of the ship he served on as Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi flew by in their Jedi starfighters.

It made him wonder if Eclipse was Force-sensitive or not.

"Hang on," Jan said.

Thought she could not anticipate the incoming fire like Eclipse seemed to be doing, she was still a very skilled pilot. The _Moldy Crow_ was also excessively fast, being equipped with an engine block from a racing craft.

She put the ship into full burn and skimmed the atmosphere of Dantooine. Green turbolaser fire filled the skies around them, but Jan didn't seem to notice. She pushed the ship so hard it shook with the violence of the fusion ion thrusters and the occasional pocket of atmosphere they hit and bounced off it. The laser fire tapered off, save for the continued red fire from the pursuing TIE fighters, which she was actually out running.

"We've cleared the blockade!" she cried as she pulled hard on the stick. The nose of the _Crow_ pointed up and they shot away from the planet at speed. As soon as they cleared the gravitational pull, she jumped to hyperspace.

Vernan's last thought was to wonder just how long Kota would last.

Rahm Kota was going to lose.

It was a humbling experience for the Jedi general to be beaten by two Sith in a row. With the first, though, he held his own. Galen Marek was still raw and confused in his anger, with a destiny hanging over his shoulder that gave Kota hope.

All he sensed from Shaddix was rage.

The man moved faster than any Jedi. His connection with the Force was beyond anything he had ever seen. The Force guided Jedi; the Sith compelled the Force to do their bidding. But this Sith seemed almost to be one with the Force, as if he _were_ the Force. The power flowed about and through him like nothing Kota had ever seen before.

After the seismic charge knocked the Imperials off their feet, Kota took the opportunity not to attack, but to run. He knew he could not beat Shaddix, and so for the sake of the Alliance he turned and ran, hoping to make it to a transport in time. He cut down the Imperials even as he tried to aid those few rebel soldiers who remained either by choice or necessity.

With his perceptions colored by the grim realization that he was lost, his heart broke further when he saw just how many soldiers were going to be trapped. They were caught completely unawares, and the blow had hurt the Alliance more than any other they ever experienced.

His grim ruminations came to an end as a ground shuttle flew toward him with stunning speed. He let the Force guide him to safety before he spun to meet Shaddix, who was already on his heels and swinging his sabers fiercely.

The boy used no lightsaber technique Kota had ever seen. It had similarities to Forms III and IV, but only just. It was a combination of speed and strength that left the Jedi general gasping for breath. His own Force attacks were shrugged easily aside, as was every strike and thrust he made.

The end came suddenly, as it always did. Kota felt a hot, searing pain in his hands and looked down in shock to see both hands were actually gone, leaving only cauterized stumps in their place. He did not scream, because he knew that would only give his opponent pleasure. Instead he stumbled back and attempted to run.

An incredible wave of Force energy struck his back and sent him tumbling into the wall of a burning hangar. He bounced off onto the tarmac and discovered with a broken heart that he lacked the strength or will to get back up.

He looked up from the ground as Darth Shaddix walked toward him, green eye almost blazing in the mid-day sun. The Dark Lord deactivated his blades and knelt down beside the beaten Jedi. "I've hated you for so long," he said to Kota. "Do you sleep at night, Rahm Kota? Does your vaunted Jedi Code help you rationalize what you did to her?"

"Her?" Kota's momentary confusion burned away as he reached the same conclusion Vernan had earlier. "You mean you actually believe that garbage?"

A strong hand gripped Kota's throat. "Where is the poison, Kota? An antidote? What is it you used to hurt my wife?"

Gasping, Kota said, "I've never seen your wife."

"You saw her on the Death Star. You knocked me out and poisoned her!" Shaddix almost screamed now.

Kota struggled for breath. "You…weren't….there."

A blaster bolt struck Kota in the crown of his skull. His head exploded in the impact, which also burned Shaddix's hand. The startled Dark Lord jumped to his feet and stared at the trooper who fired.

"Sorry, m'lord," the trooper said quickly. "I thought he was going for your weapon."

With a wave of his hand, Shaddix sent the trooper's helmet flying, exposing the grizzled features of a clone.

Katarn's commando troops did not use clones. Shaddix insisted on it. He stood and walked toward the trooper. Around them, the last pockets of resistance crumbled and the sound of blaster rifles faded. The clone trooper took a step back , recognizing death in Shaddix's eyes.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"TCS-486, Tipps, m'lord!" the trooper snapped.

"Who is your commanding officer?"

"Lieutenant Kyle Katarn, m'lord."

"You're lying, Tipps," Shaddix said. Other troopers saw what was happening and started forming a circle around Shaddix and the doomed clone. "Who is your commanding officer?"

"I'm sorry, m'lord. My CO is Lieutenant Kyle…"

A hand reached out and grasped the man's neck. "You're lying, Tipps. I can feel it. Who were you working for? Why did you shoot the Jedi before I could interrogate him? He wasn't going for my weapons—he had no hands. What were your orders, Tipps?"

Shaddix struck into the man's mind, only to pull back immediately when Tipps's eyes rolled back into his head and a white froth formed at his lips. His body started convulsing so violently Shaddix dropped him in disgust.

From the line, Kyle stepped forward with his helmet off. He checked the man's neck. "Must have had a suicide cap in his mouth," Katarn said. "Any man know when this clone joined the ranks?"

"He fell into formation with us as we were boarding the transports, Lieutenant," one of the troopers said. "We assumed he was one of yours. Had all the right armor and weaponry."

More importantly, Shaddix thought, the man joined them in the hangar of a star destroyer before they even began their attack run. "Leave him," Shaddix said. "Do we have prisoners?"

"Over two hundred, m'lord," Kyle said. "Based on our intelligence we captured or killed a third of the entire base, counting the two transports we were able to take out in orbit."

It was a blow to the hated Rebels, that was true.

"Lieutenant, I want every inch of this base scrubbed for data or survivors. All prisoners are to be taken to the frigate _Punisher_ for transport to the Death Star."

"Yes, m'lord," Kyle said with a snap of his heels. He immediately began issuing orders to the troopers, while overhead the transport shuttles that managed to sneak onto the planet before the squadron even began its attack run flew over the horizon. Among them was his personal shuttle.

Madine was already aboard and behind the flight controls.

"Well?" Shaddix asked as soon as he sat.

"Solo is back aboard cursing. One of the rebel ships escaping outflew him. Given the fact we're talking about a man who flew _the_ Soontir Fel to a tie at the Academy, that is saying something."

Shaddix nodded and looked out the viewport. "There was a clone in Kyle's assault force," he said.

Madine raised one elegant brow. "Oh?"

"He shot Kota just as I started to interrogate him." He looked down at his burned hand, only now noticing the energy. "He suicided before I could find out why."

"What did Kota say?"

At first Shaddix didn't answer. Instead, the Dark Lord stared through the transparisteel window. "I don't feel nineteen," he finally said.

"Sir?"

"I'm nineteen years old, supposedly. But I have never felt nineteen. I feel old, Crix. As if I have the weight of years pressing down on my shoulders. Why is that?"

"Well, you've obviously never had a normal childhood," Madine said. "And the loss of your memory after Kota's attack does not help, does it?"

"Before he died, Kota said I was not even on the Death Star. I could see it in his eyes, Crix. He was telling the truth. The whole holodrama is a lie."

He looked at the colonel, and despite his assertion of feeling old, he looked so very young when he said, "Who am I, Crix?"


	35. Bonus: DLOL Chaps 6 thru 10

A/N-The next five chapters of the alternate version. Some folks suggested finishing this or putting it up for adoption, but in fact this was finished BEFORE the official version. The ending of this was what provided me the direction and impetus to finish the last. So I'll continue posting the alternate version until it too is done, and then I'll mark the whole thing complete and move on with my life.

* * *

**Chapter Six: In the Shadow of the Force**

The _Rogue Shadow_ was crowded but quiet. In the main hold of the ship, the leaders of the Alliance pondered their next step in the wake of their worst defeat. In the cockpit, a young woman wept.

Three years ago, Juno Eclipse was a rising star in the Imperial Navy. Her superior flying caught the notice of Darth Vader, who called on her to fly several missions. Even when she witnessed horrible and amazing things, such as what happened on Imperial Center with the five Dathomiri witches, she continued to give her complete loyalty to Vader. She even obeyed his orders to bomb a sentient species to extinction, though the nightmares from it still plagued her.

Her loyalty was never tested more, though, than when he assigned her to be Galen Marek's pilot.

Marek was an innocent trying to play the part of a villain. She could see it in his face, and hear it when he attempted to be brusque with her. She did not doubt his power, but she did doubt his resolve to carry out Vader's suspicious orders, especially after Vader almost killed him.

It was the process of watching him evolve from Sith apprentice to Jedi that Juno Eclipse fell in love with Galen Marek. And it was because of his determination to right the wrongs of his masters, that her love for him never had a chance to be fulfilled.

Galen Marek died on the unfinished Death Star. He did not kill Shaddix's wife, because she knew for a fact that Shaddix and his wife were not there. He did kill Vader, though he took a serious wound in the process. Even wounded, though, he was able to confront and hold back the Emperor's terrible power long enough for Juno and Rahm to get the future leaders of the Alliance off the Death Star.

In the following weeks, as Mon Mothma, Bail Organa and Garm Bel Iblis combined their separate rebelling elements into a single Alliance to challenge the Empire, it was Rahm Kota who stood by Juno's side and comforted her for the loss of a love that would never be.

And now even that comforting light was gone.

Juno felt Rahm die. She felt it like a sharp pain in her chest and a throbbing pulse of agony in her head. She could not say how she knew, but nonetheless she was certain that her friend and mentor was gone. Just like so many of their fellow Rebels.

She felt another presence and turned to see Organa's counselor step into the cockpit.

Wide, nocturnal eyes regarded her in silence as Ylenic It'kla took a seat in the co-pilot's side of the cockpit. "That was the most remarkable flying I have seen since Anakin Skywalker flew during the Clone Wars," the Caamasi Jedi knight said.

"I can fly, if nothing else," Juno said. She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. "Is there something I can help you with, Master Jedi?"

A furred but smooth hand rested over hers, and from the contact came a wave of soothing gentle warmth. She looked at the Caamasi, who smiled sadly. "I too felt his passing into the Force, my young friend," It'kla said.

The show of compassion was like a blaster bolt to the wall of her control, and she started sobbing again. "It's all so useless! Everyone dies, and we don't change anything! And we're all miserable the entire time anyway!"

It'kla listened to her grief while holding her hand, until the worst of the flood passed, leaving her exhausted but somehow cleansed as well. Empty, but not necessarily in a bad way.

The ship's comlink beeped as coordinates came in. They were going to establish a new sanctuary base on the fourth moon of Yavin, a gas giant. It was an unpopulated star system in the Bright Jewel sector.

She began setting the coordinates and wondered just how many of her fellow freedom fighters were still alive to join them.

"Captain," It'kla said. "Have you given any thought to your future?"

"Future? With respect, I can barely stand the present."

"And it is wise to be mindful of the present," It'kla said. "But I speak of you personally. Who do you wish to be in, say, ten years?"

"I…" She stopped. "I don't know."

"That bothers you."

"Of course it does! I pride myself on knowing. Knowing who I am, my place in the galaxy. I enjoy learning. I always envisioned myself teaching at the Academy. But I can't do that now. Instead I help Vernan's people as an analyst or as a covert ops pilot."

It'kla nodded. "General Vernan has always spoken very highly of you, as did Master Kota. In fact, the one regret he shared with me, not so very long ago, was that he did not have time to train you in the ways of the Force. He felt, almost from the first time he me you, that you had the potential to be a great Jedi."

Juno sputtered. "What?"

"You felt him die, my dear child, because you felt the Force. It guided your hand just now as you flew us to safety. It clings to you, guiding you and strengthening you. With training, you could learn to control that power even more. The talent is there, child."

"You're offering to train me?"

"Me? No, I am not worthy to train a Jedi. My last padawan I lost to clone troopers, and I have not felt worthy to teach one since then. But I recently learned of a great master who could train you much better than I am. Think about my words, child. Do not decide now. But as you think, consider this—what better way to honor Rahm Kota's memory as a Jedi, than becoming a Jedi yourself?"

With that, the Caamasi Jedi Knight stood and left the cockpit, leaving Juno to sit and stare into the void.

The man wore a standard Alliance soldier's uniform, sans helmet. His hands were bound just like the others as he and the two hundred other captives were marched off the frigate that docked within the Death Star itself, into a long narrow hall lined with heavy e-web emplacements every ten feet. The hall had a gentle curve, and the man realized it followed the contour of the station itself.

The walk took forever, until they finally reached the detention block.

Like most ship-board detention blocks, this one was built as a separate unit from the rest of the Death Star. It was equipped with explosive bolts that could actually eject it from the station entirely in the event of a mass break-out or riot.

The line slowed as the prisoners were processed. As his turn approached, he saw the processing involved a full body scan and then a quickly, evidently painful laser tag on the back of the hand. When at last his turn came he stepped through without hesitation and accepted the tag, which was a dermal-imprinted bar code.

Naval troopers pushed them all on and into their assigned cells. The cell was already full to begin with as the man stepped in, followed closely by ten more captives, before the door slid shut with a resounding clang.

"Oh great, more bodies," one of the original prisoners complained. "Pick a spot on the floor, there aren't enough bunks."

"I'm with the Alliance to Restore the Republic," the man said. "Special Operations under General Rahm Kota. Are any of you men here with the Alliance?"

A couple raised their hands. "We were captured at Fresia. Fact, most of the current bunch was."

"Speak for yourself," another man said. "We've been in here or on Despayre for years. I was a sergeant in the Naboo Security forces when the _chee-sto_ imps killed our queen."

"Is everyone in here a current or former soldier, then?" the man asked.

"What's it to you?" another of the original prisoners asked.

"Because I'm not here by accident," the man said. "I am on a mission, a mission that could mean a huge blow to the Empire. But if I'm going to pull it off, I'm going to need help."

"You've got our attention," the Naboo soldier said.

The man smiled and knelt down to lift the right leg of his pants. He revealed not real skin, but synthflesh. He peeled it back to reveal a contoured polymer limb. He pushed against it until a small panel popped open revealing a silver cylinder. He removed the cylinder, closed the hatch, and replaced the synthflesh.

"I am a Jedi," he said. "And I am here to destroy this station."

He quickly outlined the plan, the objectives, and the stakes. Originally, he thought to recruit nine or ten prisoners to help. But the sheer number of captives from Dantooine changed the dynamics, and the Jedi realized he had an opportunity to cause much more havoc than just what was originally planned.

He was not surprised when all twenty of the cell occupants agreed with the plan, and he had no doubt the other cell block occupants would agree as well.

They spent the day in quiet conversation, trading stories. There were only five of the Naboo, but many more Rebel soldiers, either from the Alliance, or from the Alderaanian Resistance that existed before the Alliance was formed.

Finally, the night cycle arrived. The Jedi stood and held a hand to the blast doors with his eyes closed, while the rest of the men waited in silence. "Remember," the Jedi said. "Do not leave until all the cell doors open. If they realize what is happening, they'll jettison the whole block."

The men nodded in silence.

Sensing no thoughts beyond the door, the Jedi ignited his lightsaber and pressed it not against the door, but against the frame where the hydraulics were located. When he was sure the locking and lifting mechanisms were shorted, he grasped the door with the Force and pushed it up.

He crouched into the hall, and then burst into motion toward the control room. The three bored guards on duty did not even have time to scream before the Jedi cut them down, while the three survelliance cameras flared before a his lightsaber. He immediately took a seat and grabbed one of the dead men's ident card from their pockets.

As expected, a comlink on the console said, "Cell Block 1138, your cameras are down. Respond."

"This is Tielson TYYI-567," the Jedi said as he glanced at an ident. "Cameras shorted out. We're doing manual patrols, cell doors are not affected, all is secure. I'm filling out a service requisition now."

"Do you require assistance?"

"If you could send a couple more men to help patrol, that would be appreciated."

"We'll send them now."

"Thank you."

The connection ended. The Jedi worked quickly, putting on a uniform from one of the dead men and hiding the three bodies behind a console. He then sat down and made a show of examining the boards as the cell block doors slid open and another pair of soldiers stepped in.

"Tielson?" one of the men asked.

The Jedi nodded while at the same time grabbing the man's mind with a suggestion that all was as it should be. The guard nodded to himself and flicked his comlink. "Control, this is Biers. Situation normal. Will assist manual patrols until maintenance has a chance to fix the cams."

"Understood."

The Jedi stood. "The others are down here."

The men never knew what hit them, and moments later were dead as well. The Jedi regretted their deaths, but what he was going to do was too important to risk them waking or being discovered. He walked back to the control station and opened every one of the fifty doors to the cell block. In a minute, almost a thousand beings stepped cautiously out of their cells. Not all were soldiers—some looked like scholars, some were female, many were a variety of species.

The Jedi stood before them and spoke loudly. "I am a Jedi, here from the Alliance to Restore the Republic. We are planning a mass break out. A frigate is docked nearby large enough to carry every prisoner. Those of you who are willing and able to fight, we will need you."

The men from his block were the first to volunteer. Five were able to arm themselves with the weapons from the fallen guards.

"It is essential that all of you stay where you are for now until we take the Detention Block Control Center. One we control all of the detention blocks, we'll get you moving. Secrecy is the only weapon we have. Remember that."

The armed men quickly changed into the uniforms of the fallen guards, and the six of them left the detention block. "The master control room is right outside the cell blocks themselves, two levels up," he said. "An armory is across the hall from it. If we can get the people out and to the armory, we have a very good chance of succeeding."

The four men in uniforms nodded with determination. All of them were captured on Dantooine and eager to exact some revenge for the loss there.

With the station on night cycle, there was almost no traffic in the halls. The Jedi led his escorts up two levels until they reached a room clearly labeled "Detention Master Control." He looked around the hall to see if they were alone, and when he confirmed they were, he placed a hand against the door.

"Ten men," he whispered. "Draw your weapons and get ready."

He slipped Tielson's ident into the reader, and when the door slid open, rushed in with his saber drawn.

Though outnumbered two to one, the rebels had the advantage of surprise, and a Jedi. Five men were dead before the Rebels fired a single blaster. Once again cameras were immediately destroyed. The Jedi sat down at the commander's station. He removed a fist-sized device from the secret compartment in his artificial leg and put it into the droid jack.

"We have control," he said to the other men. "Grab the weapons and head down to take out the rest of the guards."

Five full blocks, with a thousand prisoners each. Five thousand wasn't enough to take control of a station that housed hundreds of thousands of soldiers, but it was a large enough number to cause one huge distraction.

The Jedi prayed to the Force that the souls who would die this day would forgive him.

He emerged from the control room just as the first freed prisoners started drifting up the stairs, not wanting to risk turbolifts. The leads were a pair of grizzled old Wookiees who grunted when they saw the Jedi's saber.

The Jedi smiled to them as he cut open the armory, knowing it would set off the quadrant alarm. The time for stealth was long past. He then led his growing army of captive soldiers down the halls of the station proper until they encountered resistance for the first time. The squad of four storm troopers stopped and gawked for a moment at the rag-tag army they were supposed to detain.

They died in a second as thirty two blaster bolts blew them down.

More storm troopers arrived, usually in squads of four to six, and were also quickly cut down. The next squad to meet them had almost fifty men, but against five thousand, they were still vastly outnumbered and quickly overrun. However, they took a toll on the rioters as well.

The Jedi tried not to think about the true consequences of his actions. It was too important to succeed. Finally the whole group broke free of a final barricade and entered into hanger 84-G. Those at the forefront of the rioters got a chance to see two things—a line of almost a thousand storm troopers already positioned around the hangar; and the fact that rather than a frigate, the hangar contained only one transport shuttle that could possibly carry fifty.

"If you stop, we all die!" the Jedi roared as he leaped forward. Driven by desperation more than courage, the prisoners surged out of the door as the entire 501st legion of storm troopers, consisting primarily of clones, opened fire.

The Jedi deflected as much fire as he could while running forward toward the line. He launched his own furious attack against the Imperial forces, distracting the line to give the rioters a chance to defend themselves. When enough emerged to provide a more even exchange of fire, he leapt up with Force-born strength to one of the TIE-fighter access gantries forty feet above.

More troopers were assembling on the gantry. The Jedi gave them no warning, cutting them down without hesitation. His true goal lay ahead—the fire control room. He continued cutting his way through the enemy until the path opened up. He ran to the room and made quick work of the two soldiers manning its controls. Without hesitation, he took the fist-sized device he used to control the cell block and once more jacked it into the console.

Immediately, the small droid intelligence began sifting through data on the station. He knew that when it was finished, it would initiate the signal off the station. That was his ultimate goal—to get the schematics of the station to a rebel site. Dantooine was a loss to be sure, but it was not the end of the war. He stepped back out of the control room just in time to see the transport explode under Imperial fire.

More storm troopers were flooding into the hangar, and the rebels were falling back to the hall, facing more firepower than they had any chance to withstand. The Jedi knew they were all going to die. He knew they would die before he even let them go. But they, like he, were going to die for a greater cause.

His device beeped at him. He turned and saw that the light had turned green and the signal was going out. When he returned his attention to the hanger, it was just in time to see a red lightsaber swinging at his head.

He ducked and rolled off the gantry entirely. He took the forty-foot drop in a roll and emerged to his feet as the Sith jumped down as well. "Two Jedi in two days," the Sith said. "How special."

"Strike me down if you must, Sith," the Jedi said. "I've already won."

"I'm sure you're very proud of yourself," the Sith said. "You managed to get all those people killed."

"The Empire was going to kill them anyway," the Jedi insisted. "This way, they lost their lives for the greater good."

The Sith stopped, and for a moment his face warped into something so filled with rage it seemed hardly human. "More evil has been done for the greater good than any tyrant ever could hope for," he said. "Tell yourself what you must, Jedi, but those people's blood is on your hands."

The Sith struck, fast and hard.

The Jedi had a name once, and a reputation as one of the best duelers in the Order. He gave up his name in honor of his fallen brethren, but he never gave up his skill. He met the challenge the Sith presented with skill and precision, beating back the dual blades.

The battle flowed back and forth. The Sith too saw that the Jedi was not just another survivor—he was a warrior of the Old Order at his prime. He beat back another attack and grew aware of the circle of storm troopers surrounding him.

Even if he beat Shaddix, he would die. But, he would die for a great cause. He gave the Sith his best Mace Windu-style smile and said, "Do you want me to kill you now?"

The momentary confusion and even fear on the young man's face was surprising, but provided the Jedi the opening he needed. He pushed out with the Force, tossing the young man off his feet, and leapt into the air with his saber spinning.

The young Sith was caught completely off guard despite his superior dueling skills, and in that one brief moment the Jedi knew he would win the duel, regardless of the battle's final outcome. He came down over the Sith and stabbed down so hard his saber sank through to the hilt.

In the unoccupied floor.

He spun about, shocked to find the Sith standing in the center of the hangar, still surrounded by troopers. There was no possible way he could have moved that fast, not even with the Force.

"You've had your turn, Jedi," Shaddix's voice said, dripping rage. "Now it's my turn."

He hooked his sabers to his belt, leaving himself unarmed. The Jedi jumped to attack again, and was met mid-jump by a maelstrom of blue Force lightening. The sheer kinetic energy of the blast sent the Jedi sprawling.

He fell and gasped for air as his limbs convulsed under the awful power. He did not have long to recover as an incredible power gripped him and then threw him straight up so hard he slammed against the ceiling of the hangar sixty feet overhead.

The force disappeared as soon as it came and he fell back down the sixty feet. He gathered the Force to cushion his fall when that same power slammed into his back, crushing him against the floor below. The shock of the impact left him completely numbed at first, until a symphony of pain began to make itself known.

Nearly every bone in his body was broken. The fight was over—he lost. The Sith walked toward him, the expression of rage fading. He knelt down beside the broken Jedi. "I know you think you're the hero," the Sith said softly. "But heroes don't wallow in the blood of others for their victories. You're not a hero. You might be a soldier, you might even be a good soldier, but never a hero. You're nothing more than another villain."

The Jedi felt darkness coming fast when he heard a cold voice say, "Shoot him."

He heard a blaster bolt, and nothing more.

* * *

**Chapter Six: Nightmares**

Palpatine did not sleep.

The Dark Side of the Force granted great power, but it also exacted a heavy price. The last time Palpatine slept, his dreams had been filled with all the horrors of the darkness, horrors not even a Dark Lord of the Sith wanted to see.

So the Sith lord had not slept in twenty years. Only a few members of Palpatine's advisory cabinet knew of the Emperor's nights spent meditating or scanning intelligence files. His personal quarters were luxurious as befitting the ruler of the known galaxy, but he rarely spent time in his sleeping quarters. Rather, he spent his evenings in a Sith meditation chamber hidden behind the luxurious façade.

The chamber did not just aide the Sith's meditation; it was equipped with a huge communications suite that allowed him to sift at will through all the data of the Empire. Most evenings, he allowed the Force itself to guide his reading selections. Corrupt officials were often surprised that Palpatine knew everything, no matter how careful they were to hide their thefts or corrupt dealings.

Tonight, though, his attention was caught by reports coming from the Death Star. What started as a prison riot on the battle station turned into a full-scale assault as every prisoner escaped, armed themselves, and attempted to take a hangar.

Shaddix's report was as terse and to the point as always: _Master, a Jedi and rebel infiltrators managed to obtain schematics of the station. They were able to transmit the data off the station before I killed them. I have left the station with my battle group to track the plans down and kill all those who came in contact with it. I will report back once the plans have been located and our enemies destroyed_.

That was it. An admission of failure on his part, followed by steps he was following to rectify the failure, and a promise to report when the failure was resolved. Precisely what Palpatine expected of his high ranking officials. Contrary to the fear of his courtiers, Palpatine did not kill people for making the occasional mistake—provided those who made it accepted responsibility and presented a plan to fix it, and then followed through with that plan. Pestage himself, the Emperor's Grand Vizier, had made several errors regarding his dealings with the criminal organization Black Sun, but always managed to fix the problem before the Emperor had to step in.

No, the report from the Death Star was bothersome, but not alarming. The alarming report came from Wilhuff Tarkin after Shaddix left.

The Emperor replayed the report now, going over the many facts in the matter.

"_M'lord_," Tarkin said as he knelt. "_I regret to inform you that there has been a breach in our security on board the station. An armed Jedi somehow led a mass escape from our detention block. The escape was coordinated and well planned_."

The recording of Palpatine said, "Tell me about this attack."

Tarkin nodded, expecting the question. "_M'lord, the Jedi used the cover of the escapees to access plans for this battle station and then transmit them to a receiver estimated to be at Polis Massa. The 501__st__ Legion proved unable to contain the riot until Lord Shaddix's personal 283__rd__ legion joined the battle. Lord Shaddix personally engaged the Jedi in a duel. During the course of the duel, the Jedi gained the upper hand and appeared to be on the verge of killing Lord Shaddix. Both witnesses and security cameras show that Lord Shaddix disappeared from the Jedi's strike and reappeared with a popping sound ten meters away. It was not a move—it was an instantaneous change of position that looked very suspiciously like what our theorists believe teleportation would look like. Lord Shaddix then easily overcame and killed the Jedi. He has since left with his Death Squadron to hunt down the stolen plans."_

The Emperor halted the recording—Tarkin enjoyed the sound of his own voice. He was an able administrator and a ruthless tactician, and it was obviously that he disapproved of Shaddix's actions. But that did not bother the Emperor. No, what bothered him is the report of what happened during the duel.

The Sith did not teleport. Not like what Tarkin reported.

There was no doubt that Shaddix had not recovered his memories yet. The Emperor was careful to keep his apprentice away from female Force-sensitive women for that very reason. If potential female Jedi were located, he dispatched Inquisitors to handle it. Despite that, Shaddix was quietly removing the Emperor's chosen officers from key positions, replacing them with men the Empire could have done without. Despite a year and a half of conditioning, it appeared that Shaddix was not quite as Sith as he should have been.

This presented a quandary for the Emperor. Due to the overwhelming success of his own psyprop campaign, Darth Shaddix was more popular within the Empire that the Emperor himself. In fact, it was completely by design that Palpatine shifted the focus of his people from himself to Shaddix. But with the success came risk, and now those risks were becoming open liabilities. He could not afford to openly question his apprentice, nor to call him back in a way that would make the Moffs question him.

But he could not let things go unchecked as they had been, either.

His mind quickly wrested an answer from the Force, and without moving a muscle he activated a comlink switch. Moments later the hologram of a heavily tattooed Zabrak appeared and bowed deeply. "Master," Grand Inquisitor Ja'ce Yiaso said. "How may I serve you this evening?"

"I am troubled, my friend," the Emperor said.

One did not ascend to the rank of Grand Inquisitor without brains and informants. "I have received reports from within the Ubiqtorate of disturbing shifts of key personnel to Lord Shaddix's command. He is gathering men and women of admittedly high qualifications, but with equally high grudges against the New Order. At least two are suspected of providing information to Rebel forces in the past, and another's father was murdered by one of my very own Inquisitors. It is likely these men and women owe greater allegiance to him than to the Empire."

"You suggest there is treason, Grand Inquisitor?"

"I suggest a need for caution, Master."

"A sensible suggestion, Lord Yiaso. You are to gather four of your best Inquisitors and travel to the Death Star. You shall ally yourself directly to Moff Tarkin, and you shall observe my apprentice."

"If he questions our presence?"

"He shall suspect you are hunting Jedi infiltrators following his failure to question the last one. Know that his weakness is his wife. He will die without her."

"I shall gather my Inquisitors at once."

"And Lord Yiaso, make sure the Inquisitors are all male. No female Force-sensitive is to approach Lord Shaddix under any circumstances. Do I make myself clear?"

"It shall be as you say, Master," Yiaso said.

The connection ended; Palpatine closed his eyes and sank back into meditation to see where his actions could possibly lead.

_Palpatine stood before the broken body of Lord Shaddix. The boy still lived, but just barely. He lay face down in the blood-blackened snow, stripped naked and partially flayed. One whole leg was gone, the other was skinned up past his thigh. His testicles and penis were gone, fed to the gundarks. His stomach was cut open and spilling out his innards._

_There was no possibility that he could survive._

_"Turn him."_

_Boots roughly rolled Shaddix over, spilling more of his entrails in the process. The young Sith's breath came in a terrible, ragged gasp as empty sockets stared sightlessly at the crystal blue winter sky._

_Palpatine knelt down beside him. He ran a finger across Shaddix's bloody chest and licked the blood from the finger. "Most delicious," he said. "You have dodged death for two years, child. Through luck and the guidance of others, you have survived where by all rights you should have died. But no more. It ends now. Do you want me to kill you, my friend?"_

_"Whaass," a breathless gasp came. His tongue was gone—it was the only sound he could make._

_Palpatine nodded. "Then I shall show myself merciful, Lord Shaddix. I shall give you release." He placed the tip his lightsaber to Shaddix's forehead. "After all," the Emperor said, "it is for the greater good."_

_The saber buzzed on and a flash of red struck directly through Shaddix's skull._

Shaddix sat up with a moan on his lips, and then rolled off his bed to be sick all over the floor. When at last the shivering passed, he climbed back into his bed while a housekeeping droid quickly came and cleaned up the mess.

Sleep was gone for the night. Whenever the strange nightmares started, he knew there was no point in going back to sleep.

It was now a week after the Death Star uprising. They traced the signal to Polis Massa, but by the time he arrived the plans had already been retransmitted. He destroyed the base, taking his frustration out on the rebel soldiers there. None survived.

And now they received word from other elements of Shaddix's command that the heavy weapons research facility on Toprawa was also attacked, proving that the Death Star incident was not isolated, but a coordinated effort by the Rebellion to obtain information on Tarkin's pet project.

As much as he hated Tarkin and the Death Star, he did not have a sufficient support base to openly rebel against the Empire. Not yet, anyway. And so he had no choice but to play his part and defend the Empire.

With a sigh, Shaddix stood and pulled on a light shimmersilk robe. He left his room on board the _Fury_ and stepped into what he called his inner sanctum.

_She_ was there. The stasis chamber was completely translucent, and gave the illusion that she was just sleeping. The walls around the room were painted in bright, beautiful murals of different planetscapes, since he wanted her surrounded by beauty. She looked too thin and pale. Her hair was lank and thin. And yet she was still the most beautiful woman he could imagine.

He laid his head against the shield of the chamber, reaching for her presence in the Force. He wanted so desperately to touch her—to make her whole and then love her. His desire for her was almost painful at times, as was the despair that came when remembering he could not have her.

Because of the rebels.

_You weren't there._

That's what Kota said. And he was speaking the truth. His whole life was built around the truth that Palpatine told him—that he and Mara were wed as teens; that they came to Palpatine to protect them from the Jedi; that Galen Marek and Rahm Kota attached them, poisoned Mara and somehow attacked Shaddix's mind to steal his memories.

How could any of that have happened if _he wasn't even there_?

"What do I do, Mara?" he whispered. "I don't know what to do!"

Mara slept on in stasis. Forever young, so close and yet so far away he felt as if his soul was breaking for his need of her.

Lord Shaddix was coming.

Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan knew beyond any doubt that he was coming for her. Their intelligence files confirmed that the _Fury_ was his personal flagship. It was the _Fury_ and _Tyrant_ that fell on their Polis Massa base and wiped it out entirely. The base had a strong Alliance presence but had no chance against the Imperial assault Shaddix personally led. Fortunately the data received from the Death Star had already been transmitted to her.

Unfortunately, Shaddix was very, very fast. Before the _Tantive IV_ could dock with the _Liberty_ to transfer the data, three star destroyers and a heavy cruiser emerged from hyperspace with all turbolasers firing.

The Mon Cal star cruiser managed to escape, if just barely. It cost three squadrons of the new T-65 X-Wing fighters to buy that escape, but for Leia it also meant a chance for the _Tantive_ to attempt its own escape.

She thought briefly that her senate consular registry would protect her. As soon as the _Fury _fired upon her ship, though, she knew it would not. Shaddix somehow knew she had the plans and simply let the _Liberty_ escape as the entire Imperial squadron went after her.

Captain Antilles was doing his best to get her and the ship to safety, but the dangerous game of subterfuge the princess and her father had been playing for the past two years was at an end.

"Princess, I'm sorry," Antilles said. "They've managed to stay with us through the past five jumps. Their navigators are calculating our entry points into hyperspace too effectively, and by the next jump they're going to catch us."

The captain, a lifelong friend and pilot for Bail Antilles, looked on the verge of tears at the thought of his friend's little girl being caught. "We have to do our duty, captain," she said with more courage than she felt. She was there in the capital when Shaddix was revealed to the public. She watched the joy the young man took in murdering that bumbling moff. She also knew that the evening of Carnac's death, his wife and two children were brutally murdered.

There was only one answer Leia had to a Sith.

"Get us to Tattooine, Captain," she said, knowing this man would never purposefully fail her.

Captain Antilles gave her a determined nod, and then hugged her closely. "Bail is so proud of you," the older captain said. "Never doubt that."

For one brief moment, Leia allowed herself the luxury of weakness and hugged the man back. "Thank you, Raymus," she said.

Without another word, he turned and left her stateroom. They were already skimming the Rim, so Tatooine was only few hours or so away. She used the time to start dumping the data from the ship's computer system into a single data chit. A cleaning AI came behind and wiped the ship computers clean of any trace of the data. The Imperial slicers would know something was there, but would not be able to reconstruct it.

She managed to finish a minute after they reverted to real space. A minute after that, the ship shook violently as a turbolaser bolt hit. Her vague hope of shuttling to the surface vaporized with the next shot. The star destroyer was within weapon's range. Once they disabled the _Tantive's_ own weapons, they would be boarded.

She was not going to cry or show her fear. She was too strong for that—she was Leia Organa of the Royal House of Organa. She carried within her the pride of all of Alderaan and she most certainly would not break down in a blubbering mess, no matter how terribly she wanted to.

She grabbed the data chit and ran out of her stateroom. Instantly a squad of her father's soldiers fell in with her, but she stopped them. "Defend the ship," she said. "We all have our missions."

The men, native Alderaanians who had watched as their princess grew from the wild, darling child of the court to the composed, powerful woman before them, merely nodded their assent before turning to guard the docking hatches. Every single one knew they had no hope; their job was to simply delay the inevitable.

"Artoo," Leia said into her wrist come, "meet me by the starboard escape pod."

She arrived just as the whole ship lurched dangerously to the side and then pitched forward. The internal dampeners compensated for the pitch a second later, but not before Leia felt the engines of the blockade runner give out. The _Tantive IV_ was now dead in space.

She heard the familiar whistle of the family's astromech droid. The faithful droid was one of the oldest droids in service; she thought of R2 more as a friend than anything else. "Artoo, download this chit into your secure memory and then erase the chit."

The droid did so, taking in the data easily. The emptied chit popped back out and Leia slipped it into the sash of her senatorial robes. "Okay, I need you to record a message." She took a deep breath to compose herself and then said, "Begin."

Looking into the recording lens, she said, "_General Kenobi, years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope._ End recording."

Artoo beeped twice to let her know the recording was done. "Thank you. Now listen, Artoo, this is important. I am authorizing you to use the port-side escape pod. Go to Tattoine and seek out General Obi-Wan Kenobi. He lives somewhere near a city called Mos Eisley. Please be safe."

Threepio arrived. Where Leia thought of Artoo as a friend, she thought of Threepio as that friend's nagging spouse, "Artoo, where are you?"

Leia slipped into the shadows of the utility corridor and watched the smaller astromech droid lead its confused and fussy companion into the escape pod opposite hers. Moments later in the hallway outside, she saw green and red blaster bolts flying back and forth as storm troopers stormed the ship.

She crouched down to minimize her target area and pulled her blaster from her sash. The fighting in the hallway grew fierce as her men took a stand and refused to yield against the greater number of troopers.

The stand-still lasted only a moment, though. She heard a distinctive _snap-hiss_ and saw the Alderaanian blaster bolts snapped back at them. She tried to make herself even smaller as a compact figure clad completely in black stepped into the narrow view of the utility corridor. He swung his two red lightsabers with inhuman speed and accuracy, batting back blaster bolts as if they were mere Bocce sling balls.

Storm troopers slid past him, seemingly unconcerned that the lethal sword swung centimeters from their heads. But she quickly saw that he was not just killing her men; he was shielding the storm troopers to give them a better chance to shoot back. It seemed to confirm the intelligence that Shaddix's men were all fanatically devoted to the Dark Lord for a reason.

She froze, both physically and mentally, as she saw the Sith pause at the opening of the corridor. She felt something brush against her, like a stiff, chilling breeze, and though she did not reveal herself, somehow she knew he discovered her.

Without a word, Shaddix left the raging battle and stepped into the dimly lit utility hall, clad in black with a dark cape that hung to his heels. He was not tall at all, and yet he radiated power. "I will not kill you, Princess," he said smoothly, though she was still trying to keep out of sight, "but if you resist I will make you hurt badly."

She took a deep breath to steel her courage and face her death, and then stepped out with her blaster. She fired five rapid rounds, but stopped as she saw the Sith raise a single hand and make the air in front of him shimmer with blue light. The red blaster bolts slammed into the shield and rebounded harmlessly against the corridor walls.

A moment later the gun flew from her hands into his. He casually tossed the weapon over his shoulder and walked toward her. He was only a few inches taller than she was, but she felt as if she were in the presence of a dark and terrible giant.

"Where are the stolen plans?" he asked. His voice oddly did not sound that menacing; rather like any boy she would meet walking down the street.

"I don't know what you…."

No amount of courage could have prepared her for the agony that ripped through her veins. She collapsed to the ground, screaming and kicking in her convulsions. A moment later the pain passed. Shaddix had not moved at all; he had caused the agony with nothing more than a glance. Once she was on the floor, though, she felt a strangely gentle hand rest on her cheek as she sobbed.

"You're brave and strong," the monster said, still in that surprisingly young voice. "I'm sorry I have to hurt you so badly. But I have to have those plans back. My master will punish me if I fail. Please, tell me where they are."

"Your master's a monster," she shouted, dripping spittle despite herself. "Just like you."

His softened features morphed into a mask of stone. "You have no idea," he said clearly. He grabbed her neck and lifted her bodily off the floor until he slammed her into the wall. His elbow pressed against her chest and his face loomed a breath away from hers. "Tell me where the plans are."

"I won't tell you," she snarled, enraged by the agony. Her limbs shook from the sheer memory of the pain he caused her. "Do your worst you murdering bastard."

"You're one to talk," he snapped. "High on your own morals, while your father attacks innocent women."

Leia blinked. "What are you talking about?"

He stared, as surprised by her confusion as she was by the question. She took the opportunity and stepped forward to knee him as hard as she could. Unfortunately, the Sith Lord turned his thigh sufficiently to block the blow. Still, Leia attempted to spin away from him to escape. His arms wrapped around her in a death grip before he slammed her face-first against the wall. He pressed his whole body against her, smashing her.

"Princess," he said in a perversion of a lover's whisper, "I don't want to hurt you. Unlike your father, I don't target the family members of my enemies. But you've crossed the line from my enemy's daughter, to my enemy's ally. All gloves are off. You're young and beautiful and everything your world aspires to. Subjugating you would be the same as subjugating all of Alderaan. Please, spare us both that indignity. Tell me where the plans are."

"I'll die before I tell you a thing," she hissed, fighting to get him off her.

"No, m'lady, you won't."

He backed off her, though kept one hand pressing her firmly against the wall. Abruptly he spun her around, but kept his hand in the same exact position, so his palm was pressing directly between her breasts.

The handsome face stared at her, bright green eyes sparkling with a terrible, dark light. "Tell me," he hissed.

She felt him stab into her mind. It was the most horrifying invasion she could have imagined. And yet, somehow, she held him back. She threw memories at him—memories of her life in the palace; of holding Queen Breha's hand as she died. She felt almost paralyzed as their minds became entwined in battle.

They drew closer as they fought against each other, lost in the battle of their minds, until their noses were almost touching. Leia felt him reaching deeper and deeper into her thoughts, searching for that piece of knowledge that would tell him where the Death Star plans were. She could not let him find that knowledge, even if it meant her death.

She did the only thing she could think of and pushed into him until their lips met. The mental attack disappeared as bright green eyes widened in shock. For the briefest moment, he leaned into the kiss, responding naturally. For the briefest moment, Leia felt a terrible heat blossom in her chest, only to die quickly again. Still, the tactic worked and the attack ended.

He pushed off her, violently forcing her back against the wall. He made a show of wiping his lips while eying her with disdain. "An interesting if not futile tactic, Princess. I will have that data even if I have to obliterate your mind to obtain it." He grabbed her upper arm in a painful grip and virtually dragged her into the hall.

The _Tantive IV_ had a crew of forty-six, and also had a compliment of an additional twenty Alderaan honor guards. Leia could not help a hot flood of tears when Shaddix pulled her into a corridor where the survivors, all six of them, knelt on the floor with their hands behind their heads and their helmets tossed casually on the floor. She noticed that Raymus Antilles was one of them. The captain did not look at her for fear of giving any clues of their relationship.

A storm trooper with a lieutenant's insignia on his chest snapped to attention. "Sir, preliminary check of the ship's computer shows it's been wiped. But an escape pod jettisoned. It contained no lifesigns so we did not fire on it."

"Lieutenant, get a squad down there. Find that pod. If there was anyone or anything on it, find it and bring it back."

"Yes, sir!" the lieutenant said.

"In the meantime, get the prisoners on board our ship. Release this vessel and then blast it from orbit. We'll question them all en route back to the Death Star."

He turned to the Princess. "I'd say you'll enjoy Imperial hospitality, but it would be a lie. Your life is over."

* * *

**Chapter Eight: No One Expects the Inquisitorius**

Shaddix knew something was wrong the moment he stepped off his shuttle. The air in the station had a chill to it that did not exist before. He looked over the hastily assembled honor guard and noticed that Admiral Motti and General Tagge were the two executive officers chosen to meet him. Tarkin's cronies both wore carefully schooled expressions as they bowed.

"M'lord," Motti said. His eyes travelled to the storm troopers behind Shadix who escorted the cuffed princess and survivors from the _Tantive IV_. "And guests. Your mission was successful?"

"My mission is on-going," Shaddix said. "Who has the Emperor sent, Admiral? I can sense them."

Motti snapped his attention back to the Dark Lord. "Moff Tarkin requests you join him in the executive conference room, m'lord. In the meantime, I'll take care of our guests."

The admiral's eyes lingered on Leia. Shaddix cleared his threat. "No thank you, Admiral. I will oversee their interrogations personally." At his signal, Lieutenant Katarn and his troopers led the captives out of the hangar while General Tagge dismissed the honor guard.

Shaddix, meanwhile, started striding toward the nearest turbolift carrying Tagge and Motti in his wake. "Admiral, Captain Lennox reported that an unregistered freighter blasted off Tattoine the day after I captured the princess. While it is a possible coincidence, it is also a possible lead. Please make an interdictor cruiser available to Lennox's task force immediately."

For propriety's sake, Shaddix phrased it at as a request, but there was no doubt as to it being a command. "Of course, Lord Shaddix," Motti said without a trace of the resentment he was obviously feeling.

Shaddix entered the executive override code into the turbolift and it took them directly to the command deck. The chill feeling was even stronger here, and Shaddix knew he was even closer to the Emperor's emissary. Could it be the Emperor himself? Shaddix fought to keep his expression blank as he, Motti and Tagge stepped into the executive conference room.

He paused just inside the door. "Grand Inquisitor Yiaso, a pleasure," Shaddix said.

"I'm sure," came the deep, oily voice of Ja'ce Yiaso. "I believe you know Grand Inquisitor Antinnis Tremayne. You've yet to meet our only non-Force sensitive high inquisitor, Max Slosin."

"I've heard of you, of course," Shaddix said of the wrinkled, bald, bearded man with the deep set, dead eyes.

"And may I introduce High Inquisitor Halmere and Inquisitor Jerec."

Jerec, an eye-less Miraluka, stepped forward with a grin. "It is surely an honor to meet you, Lord Shaddix. I've heard so much about you."

"Surprisingly, Jerec, I've heard of you as well," Shaddix said. "I admit to some confusion on why the Death Star needs five Inquisitors of such exalted rank."

"It is not even been ten days since a Jedi led an escape and riot on this station," Jerec said, smiling. "In fact, did you not let that very Jedi get so far as to send detailed plans of this station to the rebels? Can you even question why the Emperor feels we should be here when his very own apprentice fails so spectacularly?"

The temperature in the room seemed to drop. "Lord Shaddix!" Yiaso said, sensing the impending violence in the Force, but to no avail.

Jerec realized the danger and jumped back, his saber snapping on to intersect the overhand swing. He completely missed the second blade that attacked simultaneously and burned through his face and skull. The exchange took less than two seconds.

To the shock and silence of the rest, Jerec fell dead to the floor. Suddenly a rush of wind filled the room and blew the remaining four Inquisitors against a wall and tossed Tarkin to the floor. The wind died and the men quickly picked themselves up to find Shaddix staring down at them with lit blades.

"High Inquisitor Yiaso," Shaddix said in a light, conversational tone, "if you are going to have one of your peons bait me, at least have the intelligence to ensure such a peon can actually defend himself. Also remember your place. I am a Dark Lord of the Sith. If you or any of your people challenge me, I will not hesitate to kill the whole lot of you."

Yiaso stood, summoning the Force as he did so. "So confident are you, Lord Shaddix?"

"It is not confidence to know the facts," Shaddix said. "Shall we find out?"

"Your excellencies!" Tarkin said as he picked himself off the floor. "Please! Lord Shaddix, Lord Yiaso is here on the Emperor's direct order. He is to oversee the interrogation of all prisoners."

"All prisoners," Yiaso reiterated. "Including those you just brought in."

"You can have the others, but the princess knows where the missing data is," Shaddix said. "I will handle her interrogations personally."

"You defy the Emperor?" Yiaso said.

"I defy you," Shaddix said. "Should the Emperor contact me directly, I will of course comply with his wishes. But I am his apprentice. He does not need intermediaries to send me orders."

"How brave of you," Yiaso said. He bared his sharpened teeth in a sinister smile.

Shaddix ignored it. "My lords, it was a pleasure as always."

He turned, stepped over the body of Jerec, and left the room. He did not look back as he left the command deck. He did not look back once until he was through the Executive Park, through his spacious living area of his quarters aboard the station, and into his private sanctum. He closed the door with a flick of his wrist and fell to his knees beside the stasis chamber of his wife.

He never left her far behind, and depended on his people to ensure she arrived directly to his quarters while he was dealing with the prisoners. She was the only thing anchoring his sanity and resolve.

"He knows, Mara," he said. "Palpatine knows. He must have found them. Somehow. He must have found them."

The chamber droid announced that Colonel Madine had arrived and waited for him in his antechamber. Without hesitation, Shaddix moved from his sanctum into the front living area. "Crix, I have a mission for you," he said.

Colonel Madine stood at attention. "Rumors are running rampant already. Did you really kill an inquisitor?"

"I did. The one responsible for Morgan Katarn's death, but we don't need to tell Kyle just yet. He pushed too hard and gave me a perfect opening. Killing him concerns me less than the fact that the Grand Inquisitor and three High Inquisitors are on this station. One of them is a renowned torture specialist. They came to take over the interrogations."

"The princess?"

"The Emperor would not question my desire to oversee the questioning of Bail Organa's daughter. But the fact they're here means he knows something. We need to move Carnac's family off Chandrila to Esseles."

"I'll see to it," Madine said. "Does this change our plans?"

"That all depends upon the princess," Shaddix said. "She knows where the plans are. I was surprised at her method of defense, though."

"What do you mean, m'lord?"

"She kissed me, Crix."

Madine's stony face cracked into something that on a normal person might have been a smile. "Kissed you, m'lord?"

"Don't worry, Crix, the kiss was followed by an attempted knee to my groin. I doubt she's ready to post bans any time soon. If I can return those plans and present them to the Emperor, though, that will go a long way to assuaging his concerns and buying us the time we need."

"He's going to kill her, you know. In fact, Tarkin has already ordered her termination."

Shaddix's face fell. "I know. There's nothing I can do to save her."

"Would you want to, sir? She is Bail Organa's daughter."

Shaddix shook his head. "My war is with Organa himself. If I take revenge on his love ones, I'd be no better than he, or the Emperor. It's a line I don't think I want to cross, my friend. I hurt her only because I must, and no further."

"And that, m'lord, is why I'm with you," Madine said without hesitation. "I'll see about Carnac's family."

"Thank you."

After an hour of meditation to calm his nerves, Shaddix stood and looked down at his wife. He leaned forward, stunned to see the smallest bit of color in her cheeks. "Mara, love?" he whispered.

He felt no response, just the normal, constant hum of her presence in his mind. It was at once soothing and heartbreaking. "Soon, love," he said.

The thirty minutes it took for him to reach the Detention Block gave him an opportunity to consider his next steps. There was no doubt he would get the data. The question was how to best present it. He realized his only option was to present the plans directly to the Emperor; and possibly present the Princess herself. Though he had no desire to make war against the families of his enemies, the Princess made herself a viable target by her own actions.

He was still mulling over next steps when he arrived. The personnel of the Detention Block were regular Navy and answered up through the ranks to Tarkin. Still, he nodded to them as he entered.

He was not prepared to see High Inquisitor Max Slosin stepping toward him from the cells. The High Inquisitor's hands were literally dripping with blood. "Sergeant," the inquisitor said in a voice as wrinkled as his face, "I am done in cell AA-26. Send a droid to clean up the mess." Only with that order given did Slosin turn to Shaddix. He nodded. "Lord Shaddix. I have learned from the captain of the Tantive IV that they did in fact receive the transmission from Polis Massa. Only the Princess knows where."

"Which is why I am handling the interrogation myself," Shaddix said. "Clean yourself, Slosin. You're dripping on the floor."

"Ahh, indeed. Don't worry, m'lord. If you are unsuccessful with the princess, we will be glad to assist in any way we can."

"I'm sure you would, thank you."

He stepped past the murderous inquisitor. A pale-faced interrogation technician stood in the hall, taking deep breaths. He stood across from Cell AA-26. "Corporal," Shaddix said. "Is the prisoner in cell AA-23 ready?"

The corporal nodded. "Sir, yes, m'lord. The interrogation droid should be finishing up now."

Shaddix gave the young man curt nod before stepping into the Princess's new cell aboard the Death Star. The Princess herself was struggling to sit up as the interrogation droid hovered back and retracted its needles.

Her eyes were glazed and out of focus as the drugs did their terrible work. "Now, Princess," he said in his Sith Lord voice, "we are going to discuss the location of those hidden plans."

Even in her drugged state, she lifted her chin bravely. "I'll never tell you anything," she said.

He had a brief vision of the walls covered in her blood and her chest flayed open as a sadistic Inquisitor laughed. "For your sake," he said, "I hope you're wrong."

Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin was a patient man. His career itself spoke of his perseverance and patience. For almost twenty years, he had been working to bring the Death Star into existence.

After a nearly two decade gestation the battle station was at last complete, and he sat at its helm just as he had envisioned when he first saw the plans twenty years ago. Now that his masterpiece was complete; now that the galaxy was on the verge of achieving true peace and stability, rebel saboteurs managed to obtain the plans for the station.

Though Tarkin was confident the Death Star could withstand any direct assault, nonetheless he was pragmatic enough to be concerned. The rebels were like insects—if you saw one, another million waited in the shadows.

The Emperor's new apprentice did not alleviate that concern at all.

Tarkin knew that Shaddix was not a patient man, if he was even old enough to be called a man at all. The Emperor groomed him personally to replace the loss of his old apprentice in the Marek debacle that even now cast a pall over the Emperor's achievements. Vader was killed by a secret apprentice he himself trained, and the Emperor himself was hurt.

Though it did give Tarkin some pause to consider that the Emperor, who on the surface looked old and frail, was able to kill the boy who killed Darth Vader. That in fact, it was the Emperor himself who personally trained Shaddix, who demonstrated frightening fighting skills.

Still, this new Sith Lord was nearly child himself. He stalked about the station with a scowl in a silly attempt to hide the fact he was still in his teens, but the older officers had a difficult time hiding their contempt. The boy had power, this much was a fact. The demonstration with Moff Carnac was proof of that, as was the even more startling demonstration against Inquisitor Jerec.

Shaddix had done well enough putting down the Wookiee and Shili Insurrection, and squashed several other trouble spots with ruthless efficiency. He took a hardened rebel base in Polis Massa without a single casualty. But the Dark Lord was not a patient man at all, nor had he obtained the wisdom that came with age. The fact the Emperor was concerned enough to send the Inquisitorius was proof of that.

Tarkin did not understand men like Lennox, Needa or Nogdra, who seemed utterly dedicated to this anomaly who was not even half Needa's age. In fact, all of Shaddix's people seemed inordinately loyal to him. More loyal to him, in fact, than to the Empire. Tarkin had expressed his concerns that Shaddix was building a core of fanatical followers around him, but the Emperor merely replied, "Do you not do the same?"

It was a valid question, since Tarkin did make sure his own people were in the appropriate command roles below him. But none showed the strange devotion to him that Needa, Nogdra, Lennox or the others showed to Shaddix's. After all, Shaddix was just a boy! What could he have done to warrant such fanaticism?

Tarkin watched now as Shaddix strode into the conference room, openly frowning. Tarkin said nothing as the young Sith Lord made his way around the conference table to stand at his customary place at Tarkin's right shoulder. The generals and admirals in command of the various aspects of the Death Star said nothing by way of greeting. The meeting was for the command staff of the Death Star. Shaddix was many things, but so far had no direct command role on the station. He was an extension of the Emperor's will, though, and so was allowed to go anywhere he wished.

"Well, to continue," Tarkin said, "the Emperor has formally dismissed the galactic senate. Moffs will now have direct control over their individual sectors, while grand moffs will be appointed for over sector administration."

The command staff made no comment at first, since the statement was not a surprise at all. The Emperor had put the Senate on hiatus two months previous pending "budgetary concerns" for the august body.

"It is a risky move," General Tagge finally said into the silence. "The Imperial Navy does not have the resources to maintain order in every system in the Empire."

"Nor do they need to," Tarkin said. "Fear will keep the planets aligned. Fear of this battle station."

"When it is fully finished, perhaps," Tagge said with stubborn pessimism. "Until then, this station is vulnerable. The Rebel Alliance is too well equipped. They are more dangerous than any of us realize."

Admiral Motti scoffed. "Dangerous to your Starfleet, General, not to this station. This station is the ultimate expression of the Empire's might, and nothing can stand against it!"

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall," the youngest voice in the room said.

As one, every general and admiral in the room stared at the scowling Darth Shaddix. Even Tarkin turned to stare at the young man. "I'm afraid I'm not entirely familiar with that saying, Lord Shaddix," the Grand Moff said with oily calm.

Shaddix blinked and for a brief moment Tarkin thought he saw actual confusion on the young man's face, but the moment passed quickly. "It means that while the station is indeed remarkable, you should not place all your faith in what is essentially just a machine. The Force is far more powerful."

Admiral Motti, caught up in his pride, openly scoffed the young Sith Lord. "Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Shaddix. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the Rebel's hidden….aaaarrrghhhh!"

Motti began screaming as he toppled out of his chair. The other officers stood, pale and worried. Shaddix had not moved a muscle as the admiral began to convulse on the floor in agony.

Before Tarkin had to order the torture to stop, it did so on its own. Shaddix looked around the table with piercing green eyes. "I just left a cell where I had the Princess under that torture for almost an hour while her veins were pumped full of truth serum. Most men die of ruptured hearts in twenty minutes or less. The princess withstood a solid hour while being drugged before she passed out. Make no mistake, gentlemen, it is not a lack of power that has left me unable to obtain the plans. But I _will_ obtain them."

"Indeed," Tarkin said. "Gentlemen, thank you for your time. Please return to your stations. General Tagge, if you would be so kind, please help Admiral Motti out of the room."

When the officers had left, including a stumbling and pale Motti, Tarkin turned his full attention on the young Sith Lord. "Shaddix, was that admiration for the princess I heard in your voice?"

Shaddix made no effort to deny it. "I've never encountered a mind like hers," Shaddix admitted. "She is Force-strong, I'm sure of it. More so than most trained Jedi I've met. Direct mental attacks have failed, and she hasn't broken under torture. She is remarkably strong-willed."

"She is a traitor and the daughter of a traitor."

"And she will die for it. Even so, the Sith admire strength, even if we must destroy it."

"Will you continue to interrogate her then? I understand Inquisitor Slosin was most thorough with the Rebel captain."

"Slosin left only pieces. I intend to present the plans and the princess, both intact, to my Master. I will not let Slosin touch her."

"Have you thought of other means? Surely you know that humiliation can be as effective as pain."

Shaddix heard something in Tarkin's voice and looked hard at the man. Tarkin did not try to hide his leer. After all, Shaddix was a young, healthy man with a wife he could not even touch.

"Sex is a distraction," Shaddix said without hesitation. "If I attempt such action as a means to degrade her, I will be degrading myself. And in truth, rape would not break her. By now she probably expects it."

"Indeed, I admit I am surprised as well by her resilience," Tarkin said, suddenly eager to deflect the hint of anger he saw in the young man's eyes. "I've met her many times over her life, and I never suspected her capable of such selfless devotion. I actually regretted signing her termination order. However, we do not have time to play these games, Shaddix. The Inquisitors do not just question your methods, they question mine. If she has not broken at your hands, I doubt she will break at all. It is time to employ other methods. Bring her to the Command Deck. There is something I wish to show our esteemed Princess."

"Very well."

Tarkin smiled to himself as the young Dark Lord left. He might have had a fanatical following, but young Shaddix still did not know how the Empire worked. He would soon learn.

The Grand Moff left the conference room and casually made his way to the Command Deck. Already the blue-white world of Alderaan came into view, sparkling like a jewel in space. "Status of capacitors?"

"Charged and ready, Admiral," General Tagge said.

"And Admiral Motti?"

"In his quarters recovering, sir."

"Very good."

It took half an hour to get the princess to the command deck from the detention block. Tarkin saw with no small pleasure that her eyes were still glazed in a mixture of pain and the lingering effects of the drugs. Her hair had come undone, and he was frankly surprised to see how long it was. They would have to cut it before she died, so he would have a souvenir of her time as his guest.

"Tarkin," she snarled as soon as she saw him. "I should have known it was you just from the foul stench."

"Princess Leia, you don't know how hard it was to sign your termination order."

"I'm surprised you had the courage to sign it yourself."

"Charming to the last. Before you die, Princess, I wish you to see something. With the dissolution of the senate, it will fall on myself and my local regional governors to control their systems. That control will be much more effective if the local systems understand what will happen if they do not fall in line. So, as a demonstration of the firepower of this battle station, we have decided to destroy your home world of Alderaan."

"No!" Leia said, shocked and horrified. "Alderaan is a peaceful planet! You can't!"

"Would you prefer a different target? Perhaps a military target?" Tarkin said.

Leia sealed her lips.

"I grow tired of this game, Princess," Tarkin said as he stepped closer. "You will give us the location of the rebel base, and the location of those hidden plans, or you will see your world shattered."

Tarkin enjoyed watching people break. It was immensely satisfying to see the emotional comprehension a person experienced when they understood—truly understood—that they were beaten. That there was no savior coming to rescue them. That they had absolutely no hope. He watched that expression now cross over the young Princess's face. She was so strong that it was only now, in her moment of ultimate defeat, that he remembered that she was truly young herself. What was she, only nineteen?

Then Tarkin looked at Shaddix's cold face and saw that he was even younger than Leia. And he looked angry. Tarkin smiled—for all the young Sith's inappropriate comments, it was nice to see him truly understand who the master of the station was.

"Nar Shadda," Leia whispered in a voice that sounded like death itself. "They're on Nar Shadda."

"And the plans?"

"That's where I sent them," she said. She sagged against Shaddix, so broken she didn't care where support came from.

Tarkin nodded with a satisfied smirk. "See, that wasn't so hard now, was it? Commander, you may fire when ready."

"What!" Leia cried. "You can't!"

"You're far too trusting," Tarkin said, rubbing the salt into the wound. "Nar Shadda is too remote to make an effective demonstration. But rest assured, we'll deal with your rebel friends soon enough."

Tarkin turned to see the home world of Bail Organa, a man he despised, explode. And he continued to wait, far longer than he should have. "Commander, why have you not given the firing order yet?"

"Because I stopped him," Shaddix said. "You will not fire on that world."

Tarkin spun around, all satisfaction in the moment turned at once in rage. "Lord Shaddix, you forget yourself! Release him, at once."

"No," Shaddix said. The dark lord had his hand around Leia's neck. "If you destroy Alderaan, you will not spread fear. You will spread outrage. Alderaan will become a rallying cry for the Emperor's enemies. It will galvanize opposition and unite them into an effective fighting force, whereas right now they are little more than disparate militias. You will not destroy that world."

"You forget who the Emperor has placed in command of this station!" Tarkin snapped, shaking with fury. "General Tagge, if the commander is unable, enter the firing command now!"

Tagge nodded while glaring at Shaddix. "Yes, sir." He spun to enter the command when his head inexplicably spun one-hundred and eighty degrees with a shockingly loud snap. One of the targeting officers sucked in a loud breath as Tagge died.

Tarkin paled as his second in command fell to the floor.

"You may command this station, Moff Tarkin," Shaddix said calmly. "But I am the Emperor's chosen apprentice. And I am telling you now that you do not have the authority to destroy that world. Only by the Emperor's express order will any Core World be destroyed. That is MY final word on the subject. If you wish to protest, you know where the Emperor is."

The moment was ruined; Tarkin had never felt such overwhelming rage. "Rest assured," he said with forced, icy calm, "he will most assuredly hear of this. And when he grants me permission to destroy that planet, you and your precious princess will both be made to watch."

"Until then," Shaddix said with a nod. As an afterthought, he added, "And Moff, if Alderaan happens to be destroyed before I have seen the Emperor's orders, you will die in an agony you can scarcely imagine."

With that, Shaddix guided the stunned princess by the back of her neck out of the command deck, leaving behind a dead general, a stunned command staff, and a seething Grand Moff.

After they left the deck, Leia whispered, "What game are you playing at, Shaddix?"

"The only kind worth playing," he said. "A game of life and death. Lieutenant Katarn, get her back in her cell."

"Yes, sir."

Katarn took the confused and still hurting princess by the arm and led her away.

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Breaking the Sith**

Tarkin stalked into his office suite just off the command deck. His adjunct snapped to attention. "Where is Motti?" he demanded of the lieutenant.

"The Admiral has left his quarters and is outside the detention block, sir. He wishes to interrogate one of the _Tantive IV_ prisoners."

"I wasn't aware Slosin left any."

"I don't know the details, sir."

"Oh never mind. Get the Inquisitors online in my office now!" With that he walked out of the reception area and into his spacious office. By the time he reached his desk and sat the holographic image of Ja'ce Yiaso hovered over the desk surface.

"Lord Shaddix has overstepped himself," Tarkin said without preamble. "I believe he is becoming unstable. He just killed General Cassio Tagge for carrying out my direct order, and threatened my life as well!"

Yiaso did not seem particularly surprised. "The Emperor has become concerned that Lord Shaddix is not as dedicated to the New Order as he should be. In fact, it is his concern that Lord Shaddix may be considering treason."

"As far as I am concerned he has already committed it!" Tarkin said.

"He is in his quarters for now, with his precious wife," Yiaso said. "When he leaves her, we will take steps to contain the threat."

"You have a tracer on him?"

"As instructed by the Emperor. As soon as he leaves his quarters again, we will transport his wife's stasis chamber to an airlock. If you are injured, we will eject the chamber. If he resists our arrest, we will eject the chamber. If he threatens the station, we will eject the chamber. The stasis pod is not space-worthy and will rupture in minutes."

"Even threatening his wife will lead to your death," Tarkin pointed out.

"You do not understand," Yiaso said. "The Emperor has told me that Lord Shaddix's very life force is bonded to her. If she dies, he dies as well. It is his ultimate weakness, and why he will not succeed in whatever plot he is contemplating."

The revelation explained so very much. "Thank you for sharing that. I must communicate with the Emperor. Let me know if you need anything."

With that, Tarkin terminated the communication. He then stepped around his desk to the holopad. He sent a signal and waited on the Emperor's pleasure. He was surprised that he only had to wait half an hour—time he spent trying to determine who would replace Cassio Tagge. The responding signal came and he had to scamper to kneel in time for the Emperor's communication.

"I sense a disturbance in the Force," the Emperor said as soon as his image solidified. "What is happening?"

"M'lord, Princess Leia has given us the location of the hidden rebel base. As punishment and a demonstration of this station's capabilities, I ordered Alderaan destroyed. Lord Shaddix stopped the firing process, and then killed my second-in-command when he attempted to execute my order."

The Emperor received the news in silence. Tarkin remained kneeling, wondering for a brief moment if he would be the recipient of the Emperor's wrath rather than Shaddix. The Emperor always seemed to agree with his doctrine of ruling through fear—the station itself was a testament to Tarkin's doctrine, after all. But Shaddix was his apprentice. Nothing was certain regarding Sith matters.

When at last the Emperor spoke, he said, "What steps have you taken?"

"Before you initiated this communication, Grand Inquisitor Yiaso began steps to place Shaddix's wife in an undisclosed airlock to jettison her at the first sign of open revolt. I believe Shaddix's treason may have been swayed by his admiration for the princess. He openly admitted he respected her strength, and so far she has kept him from obtaining the location of the plans. He claims she has the Force."

The Emperor raised his pale hands slightly in the most overt show of worry Tarkin had ever seen in the more than twenty years he had worked with the man. "Force-strong?" the hologram said. The life-sized hologram leaned forward, and it took all the grand moff's self control not to rear back in alarm. "You tell me now that the daughter of Bail Organa is Force-strong, and that my apprentice has been attempting to wrest information from her mind?"

"So Lord Shaddix reported, m'lord," Tarkin said.

The Emperor straightened. "Kill her now, Tarkin. See to it personally. When she is dead, you are hereby authorized to destroy Alderaan. Inform Lord Yiaso that Shaddix is to return to me immediately. If he fails to comply, kill Shaddix's wife."

"As you command, m'lord," Tarkin said. Though his face was cold, inside he was cheering madly. This would show the young upstart once and for all to not interfere in things he was not old enough to understand.

In the half hour Tarkin was waiting on the Emperor's pleasure, Shaddix walked angrily through the antiseptic halls of the Death Star in silence after checking on Mara. Officers stood aside and bowed with military precision while keeping their faces blank. The news of his showdown with Tarkin had already raced through the station. After all, rumors were the only phenomenon in the normal universe known to naturally travel faster than light.

As he marched through the station, he tasted the feelings in the air. He was surprised by the amount of relief from the lower ranks, while at the same time expecting the outrage from the upper echelons of the station. However, what truly concerned him was the threat hanging in the Force.

That wouldn't stop them from carrying out their orders, but they would be thankful for the small reprieve Shaddix bought them.

Still, he knew he overplayed his hand, and he knew there would be a price. Everything had a price. But even so—the idea of destroying a Core World just out of spite disgusted Shaddix on so many levels it almost made him sick. Worse yet, he knew in fact the Emperor would give Tarkin authorization. In a galaxy of a trillion, trillion sentient beings, what was just one more world to a man who had no concept of the value of life outside of taxation and gross Imperial product?

Complicating the situation was his knowledge that Leia was lying. He could tell the moment she spoke that she was just trying to buy time to save her home and family. He did not blame her, but if he did not find those plans and have something to bargain with when the Emperor contacted him, there would be hell to pay. He couldn't even imagine what he would do if the Emperor refused to help Mara, or even threatened her.

He arrived in the detention block, in the Princess's cell. It had only been forty minutes since he escorted her off the command deck. But he knew the moment he entered everything had changed. He wasn't even aware of the prison guard who accompanied him until he stopped and saw the princess staring back at him with large, brown eyes.

The room stopped. All motion, all thought. Only he was aware. He became fully _aware_ of Leia Organa with one gestalt look. She sat on the edge of the bench. Her hands were pale, save for a crease of dark blood-engorged skin on her palms. She was resting more weight on her hands than normal, as if to shift her weight away from her normal sitting position.

Her hair was loose and hung almost to her waist. There was a bruise on her chin in the shape a thumb. The fabric of her senatorial robe over her chest showed a discolored stain, as if from moisture. Through the moistened fabric, he could actually see the hint of her left nipple. The hem of her robe was slightly torn, and there was blood. Two drops on the floor directly between her white boots.

Without a thought, he lifted her from the bench with the Force and a saw sprinkling of red dots along the back of her white robes.

Overwhelming, incomprehensible rage burned through his mind, leaving him trembling from the sheer power of it. The technician gasped and took a step back from him as he sensed the danger in the air. Without looking at the princess, he said, "Has any other personnel interrogated the princess?"

"M'lord, Admiral Motti also performed an interrogation, sir. He left not five minutes ago."

"Leave us." Shaddix's voice cracked like a child's.

The guard turned and ran from the room. Shaddix never let his eyes shy away from the Princess's. She glared back. "Come to take your turn?" she snapped. She was not broken—no mere physical assault would ever break this woman. The beauty of her strength left him stunned.

Through gritted teeth, he said, "Admiral Motti is a dead man."

"What does it matter? You're going to kill me in the end anyway."

"Yes. Yes we are."

His quiet statement made her slump her shoulders, as if his confirming it made it more real to her. The momentary show of weakness lasted only a second, but it was telling. "I need the stolen plans," he said. "I must have them. I do not want to hurt you any more, Princess. Please don't make me hurt you any more. I must have those plans. With them I might still be able to save Alderaan."

"You're sounding desperate, Lord Shaddix," she said with true bravado. "What happens if you fail to obtain them?"

"Alderaan will die, and my punishment will be even worse than yours," he admitted. "Saving your world came with a price I must pay in full. But if I don't deliver, your world will burn and you will suffer much more. I do not enjoy causing pain. My master does."

The admission surprised Leia, but she shook her head anyway. "Then I'm sorry for both our suffering, because I will not tell you. I cannot."

He moved faster than she could resist and had his hand once again around her already bruised neck. He stared into her eyes and launched his attack. Once again she threw useless childhood memories at him: her and a white-headed girl laughing together; her racing past a scowling, younger Moff Tarkin who was meeting with her father.

Her standing amidst her aunts, enduring a grooming session she despised.

Her slipping into the tent and hugging him tightly. "_Be careful, Harry_," she said.

Shaddix gasped and snapped the connection as he spun away from her. He moved without his normal grace and slammed into the opposite wall, shocked.

The princess stood with wide eyes, chest-heaving as if through great effort. "Now you know what it feels like," she hissed. "How do you like having your mind raped? Your shields are weak, Shaddix. What happened to the indomitable Sith power?"

He regained his footing, swaying. "What did you do?"

"I learned," she said with cool power. "You've been raping my mind for the past week; do you think I wouldn't learn how you do it? Do you think you're any better than Motti? At least he just raped my body. What you've done is a thousand times worse. Try again, 'Harry'! See what it feels like."

"That is not my name," Shaddix growled dangerously. His hand dropped down to his lightsaber.

"Then prove it!" she challenged. "Come take what you want! Come try! I'm stronger than you are, Sith scum. You can kill me, but you can't beat me. I'm stronger than you are!" The last was said with an enraged scream.

Her challenge caused the Sith in him to respond in kind and he did so without hesitation. He turned to her, grabbed her shoulders and slammed his mind into hers, ripping viciously through her memories even as she did the same to him.

Even in the middle of his attack he reeled against the power of her mind as it delved into his. He threw memories of pain at her even as she tried throwing memories of childhood at him. She relived his training as he relived hers.

_What is your name?_

_Help me, Obi-Wan. You are my only hope._

_What is your name?_

_I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit._

_When this is all over, you can come live with me, Harry. If you want to._

A single tear formed at the corner of his eyes, lost in a rivulet of sweat from his brow. Opposite him, the Princess's face had turned red as she strained against his own attack.

_What is your name? What is your name? What is your name? What is your name? _

_What is you…_

Suddenly their combined minds were caught in a vision neither could stop. The two of them floated in the void like gods from another age, watching as before them a beautiful galaxy spun in stately majesty.

Movement caught her attention and she and Shaddix watched as a globular cluster galaxy soared through empty space toward the beautiful spiral. The dance was going much, much too fast to be real. Yet, as she floated in the void, she saw the outer spiral arms distort under the gravitational pull of the encroaching galaxy, and saw the globular cluster flatten as it felt the pull of the spiral, much like lovers reaching for each other.

Bright pinpricks of light erupted along each side as stars died under the awesome tidal forces. The pinpricks became a constant wave of flashing light that passed through each galaxy, as if the globular galaxy were aimed in such a way to ensure stars collided. Still the globular galaxy continued, plowing directly toward the galactic core and the super-massive black hole that resided there.

The galaxy cores collided with force sufficient to rip apart space itself. Bright light flashed before her as waves of lethal radiation swept through the remnants of both galaxies. Yet, so massive was the collision the galactic remnants slid past each other, ripping the other apart and them slamming back together again.

Beside her within the vision, Shaddix wept. "My God," he whispered into the darkness. "It was my fault."

The vision faded before fiery heat. His lips were on hers—she did not even know when their mental battle turned into a kiss. Nor did she understand why she was not fighting it. Rather, she returned the kiss almost angrily, clutching at him as a burning desire tore through them both.

Everything melted before the kiss, or burned away entirely. The pain in her muscles from his torture faded; the agony from Motti's assault faded; the lingering effects of the drugs seemed to burn away from her veins, leaving her awake and aware and tingling with sensation and a physical need stronger than anything she ever imagined.

Still they kissed, their bodies pressing against each other.

It took all the control she had to ask herself, _What am I doing?_

Reality broke through the dream of their passion. While it was the hardest thing she had ever done, she broke the kiss and pushed him back. Shaddix stumbled as she did so, a confused look on his suddenly young face.

Warm.

Mara felt warmth wash through her, fighting back the terrible cold. Two blazing green eyes stared at her from the dark, whispering for her to wake.

She snapped her eyes open, and then squeezed them shut against the painful light. She rolled onto her side, only to come up against a hard, cold surface. She opened her eyes again and saw the glass canopy. Beyond the canopy was a small room of dark gray.

And standing over her she saw an old, bearded man with cold, dead eyes. He leaned down, and through the glass she heard his sibilant voice say, "Why, hello, my dear. What shall we do with you now that you're awake?"

Leia bit back tears of pain and anguish. He broke through. In her rage she lashed out at him, and left her own defenses open to his attack. He knew Artoo had the plans. He knew she sent to Kenobi for help. He knew everything.

And he stood there with that adorable expression on his face, like he just watched a pet floofoo die, and she wanted so much to hold him and tell him it was going to be okay and to make love to him so he would not think about it…

She shook her head, confused and angry with herself. What was wrong with her? Why was she so suddenly obsessed with him? Why did she suddenly want to kiss him? She was just brutally assaulted by Motti and now she was… Only, the pain from that assault was gone. Completely. She actually felt good, despite the terror of her circumstance. She felt as if she had just woken up after a perfect day, with another one to come. But that was foolish and…he was looking at her and she felt her body responding, betraying her.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"I'm sure you are!" Leia snapped. "I don't know what game you're playing at but…" A sudden, foreign surge of fear hit almost like a blow. She gasped and stumbled from it.

Shaddix paled the color of bone. "Oh gods," he whispered. "She's awake."

"What are you talking about?"

"Mara. My wife. She's awake and they're going to kill her."

"Why?"

"Because of you. Because of…"

The door behind them suddenly opened. Leia sucked in a breath when he saw Tarkin enter with a blaster in hand, and two high Inquisitors behind him. "Lord Shaddix," Tarkin said. "Stand aside. The Emperor has personally ordered her execution."

Shaddix quickly moved to stand in front of Leia. "I can't allow you to do that."

"Lord Shaddix," Tarkin said, almost spitting his words. "If you value the life of your wife, you will stand aside now."

"Where is she?" Harry demanded.

"I don't know," Tarkin said. "But I do know that if you do not cooperate, or if you harm me at all, she will be shot into space and will most assuredly die. And before you try any of your Sith magic, I truly do not know where she is."

"Magic?" Shaddix said. "You don't know the meaning of the word, Tarkin. But you will. You and that lying bastard you serve. You will know the true power of magic."

Suddenly Tarkin was gone. In his place stood a reptilian nightmare on two legs, with a long, sharp claw at the end of each leg, and a long head filled with teeth. An unseen force threw Inquisitor Tremayne against a wall as the alien beast spun and viciously attacked the stunned men behind him.

Shaddix waved his hand and in doing so brought the door back down. Tremayne started to lift himself back to his feet only to be met with a swift boot between his legs and an elbow to his temple. The inquisitor fell; before he could get up Shaddix straddled his back and pushed his head against the floor.

"Where is Mara?" he cried. "What are you doing to my wife?"

Leia watched as the man's face blanched and flecks of white froth formed at the corners of his mouth. He was fighting Shaddix's mental attack. She felt paralyzed, unsure what to do. This man had just saved her life after days spent torturing her.

Tremayne groaned and then passed out. Shaddix stumbled back off him. "They have her in an airlock on the other side of the station," he gasped. I don't think I can get to her on time. I…"

The air seemed to shimmer around him. "Yes," he whispered. "I…I remember now." He looked hard at Leia then. "I'll get you off this station. Will you come?" He offered his hand.

"What's going on?" she said.

"My life is a lie. Everything I am is a lie. I've hurt so many people for a lie. But I can't let Mara be hurt any more. And I can't let you be hurt any more. Please, please come with me."

Her decision was hastened as the door opened. A disheveled, infuriated Tarkin stood once more on the step, a blaster in hand and blood on his fingers. He raised the gun to fire. Leia almost jumped into Shaddix's arms then, and with a resounding pop, the two disappeared.

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Waking The Hero**

Leia stumbled back from Shaddix's arms and quickly saw they were somewhere else. "Where are we?"

Shaddix, though, was not looking at her. He was looking at an airlock. "Oh gods, no!" he shouted. His legs gave out, and as she looked Leia realized the outer door of the airlock was opened.

The next moment she felt a hard muzzle press against her back as a feminine arm wrapped around her throat. "Who are you, and where am I?" a young voice hissed.

Shaddix jumped back to his feet and spun around, his expression torn between hope and fear. "Mara!"

Leia felt a hand push her forward toward Shaddix, and as she did so she saw a young woman with vibrant red hair, eyes a few shades of green darker than Shaddix's, and a face that could launch a fleet. She was clothed in nothing more than a white sheet carefully wrapped around her body, and she held a small blaster pistol on them.

"Who the hell are you people and where am I?" Mara demanded.

"You're on the Death Star," Shaddix said. "You've been in stasis for two years. Do you remember the attack by Rahm Kota and Marek Galen? On the Death Star? We were seeking sanctuary from the Emperor."

The girl looked confused. "Sanctuary? I am Mara Jade, the Emperor's Hand. I do not need sanctuary from him. I am his most loyal servant! I am…." She was staring at Shaddix as she spoke, and as she stared her words faltered and the blaster dropped. "I know you. You were…in the lab. Hastlebrandt. The Emperor said I loved you. He made me go to you. But I didn't know. How…I love you but…how…who are you?"

Leia watched the effect the girl's words had on Shaddix. His face seemed like an open book, cycling through hope, anger and despair. "So it really was all a lie," he said.

Risking it, Leia said, "Lord Shaddix, my father assured me that neither you nor this young lady were on the Death Star. She is not the daughter of Anakin Skywalker. You were not seeking asylum. Rahm Kota, my father, Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis were facing execution when Galen Marek entered the Death Star and gave his life to rescue them. You were never there, and neither was she."

Shaddix fell back against the wall and then slid to the floor. "How many people have I killed for that man?" he whispered. "Good people. Oh gods, how much blood is on my head?"

"I don't know what's going on here," Mara said, "but I know who you are. You're Leia Organa. You're a traitor to my Master!"

"Then shoot her, Mara," Shaddix said, in a voice so sad it made Leia's lip quiver. "Raise your blaster and shoot her."

Mara's hand actually trembled as she pointed the gun at Leia. "I…I can't! What have you done to me? Why can't I shoot her?"

"Because we're bonded," Shaddix said. "The three of us are now Force-bonded. I don't remember everything, but I know that before the Emperor stole my mind, I was something else. Something powerful. But I needed something to live. You, Mara. He must have sent you to me to bond with me. And now, through no fault of her own, I've bonded with Leia as well. The two of you are my bondmates; you are as good as sisters now."

Both women sputtered in protest, but it was quickly halted as a handsome blond man in a TIE pilot's suit came running around a corner flanked by a battalion of storm troopers with red hand-prints on their chestplates.

The blond pilot stopped and stared at the tableau in confusion. "Lord Shaddix, is that…is that your wife?"

Shaddix stood. "Colonel Tycho Celchu, meet Mara Jade, Emperor's assassin. It was a lie. My whole life was a lie, and she was as much a victim as I was."

Colonel Tycho Celchu looked from one face to the other before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, m'lord. But you should know the entire station has been placed on alert. They're…."

The whole station shuddered; the walls, the floor—everything all at once. Celchu, who was a very recent addition to Shaddix's forces, did not realize what it meant. But when Mara, Shaddix and Leia all collapsed to their knees in obvious expressions of pain, he had a cold chill in his chest as to what it meant.

"He did it," Shaddix gasped out. "That son of a gundark did it!"

"M'lord?" Celchu asked, hoping he was wrong.

The Dark Lord looked up with actual tears in his eyes. "They fired, Tycho. The planet's gone. Alderaan's been destroyed. I'm so sorry."

Tycho Celchu was Alderaanian. His family was on the surface. His fiancé was on the surface. Everything he loved was gone.

His own rage faltered as Shaddix stood. "Colonel," the Dark Lord said. "The last Princess of Alderaan needs your help. Get her and Mara off this station no matter the cost."

"I swear it," Tycho said without hesitation.

Shaddix tapped his comlink. "Captain Nogdra?"

A stunned voice said, "M'lord, I just watched my homeworld die."

Shaddix closed his eyes. "I felt it. Tycho's with me. It's too late, Dael. Everything we planned is useless now. We're going to have to act now. The Emperor knows. We're going to have to change our plans. Contact all the loyal captains and wait for an opening. I am not going to let this blasphemy destroy one more world."

"Understood."

"And Nogdra, Mara is awake. I'm sending her and Princess Leia Organa to you with Colonel Celchu. They are important, Nogdra."

"I understand, m'lord."

Shaddix turned to the still confused women. "I have no right to ask either of you to trust me, but for all our sakes I need you both safe and away from this station."

"I can take care of myself," Mara snarled. She held up the pistol, and only then did Shaddix realize it was inlaid with the initials of Max Slosin, the Inquisitor sent to kill her.

"Perhaps," he said. "But when I blow this station to hell, you don't want to be on it."

"What can one man do?" Leia asked.

"You're going to find out. Please, go."

Leia nodded, and then looked at the younger girl with the flaming red hair and the sheet clutched around her body. "I don't know what the hell is going on," Mara muttered. "Fine, I'm going. But I want some answers when you get back!"

Celchu and Shaddix's personal troops led the two women away toward their flight bays. Shaddix turned back and tapped his complink again. "Solo, what's your status?"

"I'm getting shot at!" came the raging reply. "Tarkin's people must have figured out which side my flight is on!"

"Hang on, I'm on my way."

Solo's twenty four pilots now numbered nineteen, and those survived only because Katarn showed up with half a legion of storm troopers and was able, at least for a moment, to overwhelm the regular army soldiers Tarkin sent. But the hangar doors were still closed and all override attempts failed. Now Kyle's men were taking heavy losses as loyalist stormtroopers joined the Navy regulars. They fired across the hangar bay at each other.

He looked up at the sound of men screaming just in time to see the entire gantry tilt up and toss a hundred storm troopers into the middle of the hangar—a sixty foot drop. He turned to the main entry and saw Shaddix there, twirling with his twin blades in a crazy dance that left nothing alive.

Nearby, Kyle Katarn shouted, "Get the e-webs set up now! Four corners, move move move!"

With the distraction caused by Shaddix's brutal attack, Katarn's men were able to establish their own defensive perimeter around the hangar. With superior positioning, Shaddix's loyal troopers began to push back Tarkin's men, until they finally secured the hangar.

"Solo, get your men in their fighters and make for the _Fury_!" Shaddix shouted. To Kyle, he said, "Are all your legion with you?"

"Half. The rest are with Celchu."

The hangar was designed for a full assault time, which included several assault shuttles and drop ships. More than enough to get Kyle's men out. "All right, get your men loaded on the shuttle and follow Solo's people out."

"What about you?"

Shaddix paused. "Kyle, have you ever seen me in a simulator?"

"No, m'lord. But I've heard Solo laugh about it."

"Trust me. I'm more dangerous to my people out there than I am here. Get moving!"

While Tarkin's people struggled to get past Kyle's line of automated e-webs, he led his storm troopers into the heavy assault shuttles. Shaddix leaped up the forty feet to the gantry level and cut his way into the sealed fire control room. He easily overrode the controls and watched the hangar bay door open.

The space beyond was alight with turbolaser fire. Tarkin was firing on Shaddix's ships. If they got anywhere near the primary weapon, all would be lost.

He jumped down from the gantry, just in time to see Ja'ce Yiaso cutting down the last e-web. Hundreds of storm troopers rushed in around him.

Shaddix did not know his real name. He could not remember everything that happened before the Emperor stripped him of his memories. But one thing he did know, instinctively, was that he had POWER.

He raised both hands, grabbing the Force and bending it mercilessly to his will. The air exploded with blue lightning so thick and intense it seemed almost to take the form of a wall of blue plasma. Yiaso screamed just as loud as the stormtroopers as Shaddix's power ripped through them all.

When at last he let his attack faded, the storm troopers were dead, and Yiaso was twitching. Shaddix walked up to the infamous Grand Inquisitor. "I defy you," he said as he cut the man's head off with a quick, easy flick of his blade.

Admiral Motti sipped his cognac with a shaking hand—a lingering effect from his brief torture by Shaddix.

He smirked at the thought of his revenge against the Dark Lord's precious princess. If he thought he would survive the process, he would have done the same to Shaddix's wife, but the Princess was a safer target. She was a prisoner slated for death. Shaddix would have no just cause to go after a ranking admiral for something that happened every day with female prisoners.

Not that it mattered. Shaddix had gone too far, and not even the Emperor could tolerate his ways any longer. The fact Alderaan was destroyed proved it. One way or the other, the Dark Lord would no longer be a factor Motti would have to contend with. He looked forward to carrying out the princess's execution personally.

He spilled his drink all over his uniform when Shaddix appeared directly in front of him with a pop. "Hello, Conan," the Dark Lord said. "I was going to kill you, but I've thought of something else. A gift to remind you of the good times we shared."

Shaddix waived his hand, and Motti suddenly found himself tied, bent over, to his desk. "My memories are a bit spotty, but for some reason I have a distinct memory of a particular animal. It was known as a water buffalo."

Motti watched in stunned silence as his bed somehow changed into a living, breathing, quadruped with massive horns.

"And this animal," Shaddix said, "is feeling affectionate."

The admiral's pants fell down about his ankles and the water buffalo snorted.

"What are you doing?" Motti screamed, but Shaddix was already gone.

The Dark Lord appeared onto a gangplank overlooking one of the four strike cruisers docked within the battle station. The ships were just out of the ships yards, built specifically for the Death Star, and had never seen action.

From his position he could see the ship beginning to power up its engines to defend the station. Across the enormous gulf of equipment, a second ship was doing the same. He knew that above, two more ships would also be preparing for battle.

He jumped from his position, taking advantage of the intentionally low gravity of the bays to push himself out over the strike cruiser. He landed on its hull and quickly cut his way through two layers of armor.

Ship marines were already waiting for him—they died before a storm of Force lightning. Shaddix then ran toward the armory, cutting through the ship security easily. He arrived in a hot, cramped room filled with proton torpedoes. A lot of torpedoes.

The arms master looked up in surprise at Shaddix, while droids continued to prepare the torpedoes and other weapons for combat.

Shaddix gripped the man's mind easily. "Your orders are to arm all torpedoes and detonate them in ten minutes. You will be safely transported off the ship before the detonation occurs."

The suggestion sank into the man's mind, along with the suggestion of his own safety. The second suggestion helped the process of the first, since he would not question what was happening if his own life was not in danger.

Shaddix quickly sealed the door and ran back the way he came, again cutting through any resistance.

He did not have time to hit all four ships, though. Not running on foot.

"Of course." He concentrated, and with a pop found himself on the deck of the next cruiser over. He made his way through the unsuspecting ship, ignoring the man marines and Navy personal preparing the ship, until he reached the armor. The next arms master was no more astute than the last.

He repeated the process two more times, and when he finished with the last cruiser realized his time was nearly up. He teleported out of the last ship and into his personal quarters. He looked around at the ransacked room and saw that Tarkin's people had already been through. "Nogdra, this is Shaddix," he said into his comlink. "What's our status?"

"We've taken heavy fire," the captain said. "We did recover your two items, but I cannot promise their safety. The Death Star is nearly impervious to attack."

"Nogrda, in a few minutes the four strike cruisers are going to explode. This should cause at least a temporary break in fire as power regulators have to be rerouted. Use the break to hit the primary weapon dish emitter with everything you have. Coordinate with every other captain we have. We have to get that primary weapon out of commission before it can fire again."

"Acknowledged."

Leia stood in a corner of the command deck of the _Fury_. She stood with her arms folded tightly around herself, as if cold, and looked into the shattered sky that was once her home. The deck was filled with frantic shouts and orders as the star destroyer attempted to dance around the solid wall of incoming turbolaser fire from the Death Star, while Shaddix's loyal fighter pilots fought against the Death Star squadrons.

Her mind continued working, much to her horror. She wanted to just shut down and not think. She knew her father wasn't on Alderaan, but all of her aunts were. All of her friends. Her home. Everything she grew up with and fought for was now gone in the blaze of an old man's spite.

She turned to see Mara emerge from the Command Quarters, dressed now in a poorly tailored but adequate Navy uniform. The young girl—she couldn't have been older than seventeen—crossed the command deck with keen eyes, until she stood before Leia. They had not spoken since they arrived on the ship.

Her first words were unexpected. "I'm sorry about your world."

Leia studied the younger woman. "You served the Emperor."

"Yes."

"Were you happy?"

"I thought so. I've been remembering, though." The younger girl's eyes were misty, though no actual tears were shed. "He was everything to me. He had me trained in dance and fighting, diplomacy and assassination. I could hear his voice from anywhere in the galaxy. I was his Hand—an extension of his will. And after Vader died I thought I was going to be his next apprentice. I even told him. Do you know what my master did when I asked to be his new apprentice?"

Leia mutely shook her head, realizing that this girl was talking about the Emperor.

"He laughed at me," Mara said, choking a little. "I loved him like my father, and he laughed at me. He said he had something more important for my talents. He…he used me as a whore to keep his pet under control. His pet experiment. And it almost killed me. I remember…" She shuddered. "I had to love him. Master made me love him. I went to the lab where that horrid old professor had him in stasis, and I loved him. It felt like fire. It burned and felt so good it hurt, and the last thing I remember are his eyes."

"Do you know who he is?"

"No," Mara said. "I just served as a liaison to get that professor his money. I pretended to be COMPNOR because my Master didn't want anyone to know he was directly involved yet. The professor wanted to dig in a refuse pit on Imperial Center, and a week later they had Shaddix in a stasis pod. And the Emperor made me love him."

Leia couldn't help it—the girl's grief was like a knife to her. She put an arm around Mara's shoulder. The younger girl, who was already taller than Leia, stiffened under the contact. But after a moment, she relaxed and leaned into it. "How did you get pulled into this?"

"He captured me and tortured me for information, until I fought back. Then somehow we went from fighting to kissing."

"Did it burn a little, when you kissed? In a good way?"

"Yeah. It did. And I'm not sure why. The man tortured me. He has slaughtered thousands of Alliance soldiers. I'm so confused right now. I just don't know what's… what is that?"

She stepped forward, drawn with others as all eyes reverted to the observation windows that looked out onto the Death Star. Massive explosions ripped out from the surface, four in a row, just a few kilometers south of the primary weapon dish.

"All ships, break off and attack the primary weapon," came Shaddix's voice over every channel. "Fire now while we can!"

The view of the battestation, which dominated everything, shifted as the _Fury_ brought itself around to fire its heavy turbolaser cannons. Torpedoes and heavy concussion missiles flared out from the ship as fire from the Death Star slackened due to the massive explosions. She saw other missile contrails and turbolaser fire blasting at the primary weapon as well—at least five ships were firing on the Death Star.

Billows of explosions arched across the bottom of the dish, leaving an ugly scar.

"Mission accomplished, break off!" Nogdra said. "All ships retreat to fifty thousand klicks!"

"Captain?" Leia asked. "What happened?"

Nogdra turned and seemed to just then notice the two beautiful young women on his deck. "Lord Shaddix destroyed the four strike cruisers docked within the station."

"What happens now?" Mara asked.

"Now, m'lady, I have no idea. Half of the 2nd Fleet is loyal, but a Sector Fleet has been sent against us and will be here within a day. We cannot withstand the Death Star and the sector fleet. But Lord Shaddix is determined to destroy the station."

"Captain, do you know who he is?" Leia asked.

"He is not who you think, Highness," Nogdra said. "We were, all of us, playing a part until we had enough military assets in play to overthrow the Emperor. Lord Shaddix already had a new government organized in his mind—he called it a constitutional monarchy, with a restoration of a more powerful galactic senate. He opposed slavery of all kind, and despised corruption. He is the bravest, most dedicated warrior of…well, the light, I suppose you could call it…I've ever met. He is the complete antithesis of the Sith. Unfortunately, the Emperor now realizes that." He turned and looked Mara in the face. "He only served because he believed it was the only way to save you, M'lady. I don't pretend to understand what is happening between you, but know that he would have destroyed worlds to save you, even if it cost him his own life."

"Thank you, Captain," Mara said weakly.

"Captain, look!" Nogdra's executive officer said. They all turned to see another megaton-level explosion rip through the skin of the Death Star, this time on the southern hemisphere.

"Well, if anyone can destroy it, it would be Shaddix," Leia said.

Shaddix ducked out of the way of the fire control sled, panting heavily. His clothes were soaked with perspiration, and the trembling in his muscles reminded him of the early, painful training he received from Palpatine.

The quadrant three emergency fusion generators made a nice explosion, but as with the strike cruisers, he felt as if he were just skimming the surface. But what he needed was to destroy the station as a whole. The problem was that the station was neigh impregnable. The fact that it withstood the destruction of four strike cruisers with only minimal internal damage was testament to that. Even a star destroyer ramming the station would not do significant damage.

No, short of finding a way to crack or overheat the hypermatter reactor, it would take something much larger than any capital ship ramming the station to destroy it.

Or the station ramming something larger.

"No," Shaddix whispered to himself. "It couldn't be that easy, could it?"

The Death Star had multiple command nodes scattered throughout its infrastructure, and each one was capable of assuming tactical command of the station in the event the Master Command Deck was destroyed. But Shaddix knew from his own study of the station that the nodes worked on a domino line for security. Once could not override the other, and none could override the master command deck. This was to prevent the real risk of mutiny. Moff Tarkin designed his station so that he could see in the master command deck and have no fear of any conscientious objector trying to hijack controls of the station.

Shaddix was going to use the Empire's—and Tarkin's—paranoia against them.


	36. Bonus: DLOL Chaps 11 thru 15

**Chapter Eleven: Tired**

Grand Moff Wilhuf Tarkin thrummed with rage. It was a struggle to keep from screaming aloud, so instead he resorted to pounding his fist against his thigh—to an extent his thigh now hurt. But the pain was a necessary distraction to keep from mulling over his anger. Never in his years of service to the Empire or the Republic before had he felt such overwhelming outrage.

"Fire control units report the blaze is contained in Quadrant 3," General Moradmin Bast said. Though not as confident as Motti, and not as skilled as Tagge, the general was the best Tarkin had to replace his top lieutenants. "They report however that they cannot extinguish it at present due to heavy radiation leaks. I've redirected fire control to Sector 24 or Quadrant four. We are working on a way to evacuate the atmosphere from the whole Quadrant."

"Very well," Tarkin said. "Status of our hyperdrive?"

"General Tastiin reports that there is sufficient damage to our structural integrity to interfere with the formation of a hyperspacial window. He is planning a patch that will cut down on the Cronau radiation drag."

Tarkin nodded and looked back out at the raging battle. He was surprised at a shaky voice saying, "I wish to return to my duty station, Governor."

He turned to see Admiral Motti enter the command deck in a mobile repulsor chair.

"Admiral Motti, what are you doing up?" Tarkin tried not to shudder in disgust at the condition they found Motti in an hour ago. His bed was thrown against one all, but he himself was tied to his desk and bleeding profusely in a most undignified way, as if he had been violated by a monster.

"I wish to do my duty, Moff Tarkin," came the proud, but jittery reply. "I will not let that traitor Shaddix make a mockery of me."

"I applaud your dedication, Admiral," Tarkin said. "Please resume your duties. General Bast, any more word?"

"Yes, sir," Bast said. "We've received news that the approaching Sector fleet came under attack from elements of 2nd Fleet operating under independent orders. The attack was sufficient in strength to force the Sector Fleet out of hyperspace to deal with it. Elements from the 10th Heavy Attack squadron are also en route, but are a day away at best."

Across the room, Tarkin heard Motti sputter. "What?"

"Admiral?" Tarkin asked.

"Sir, my apologies. I've just learned that we have lost more than fifty percent of our fighters, with only twenty percent losses to the enemy. They now actually outnumber us!"

The floor beneath them shook. "Are we having any effect on targeting the enemy capital ships?" Tarkin demanded.

"Not any more, sir," Motti said. "They have moved beyond our effective firing range. However, they are continuing to fire at us. Due to the sheer size of the station, they're fire is getting through while we are missing entirely. Their attack was sufficiently damaging to prevent us from using the primary weapon. We're sitting ducks here, Excellency. I want them dead more than any other, but if we continue like this, there is a danger they could do real damage to the ship's engines."

"Best speed to the Alderaan Sector Fleet, then," Tarkin decided.

The door opened again, but he was so engrossed in the station's troubles he did not turn until he heard the distinctive _snap-hiss_ of duel lightsabers. He spun around and saw Shaddix standing just inside the door.

The young man was disheveled and clearly exhausted, but he wore a dark, manic grin. "Good evening, Wilhuf. And Admiral Motti, I'm so glad to see you're up and about. It must mean you're ready for more."

General Bast gasped and then with a pop became something else—a massive, horned quadruped. Motti made a strangled sound and started driving his hoverchair away, while the beast followed him with loud snorts.

"So, who dies first?" Shaddix asked.

Around the room, every entrance slammed shut and the lights overhead turned red. It was the emergency lockdown, Tarkin realized. "Shaddix, you realize you are a dead man."

"You just killed two billion innocent people, you son of a Gamorrean sow," Shaddix said. "I don't mind dying, so long as I know you die first."

Terrified naval personnel opened fire. Shaddix did not even look their way as he easily batted their blaster bolts back at them, one after the other. On the far side of the room, Motti's screams increased in pitch while the water buffalo grunted. Tarkin refused to even look. Instead, he calmly walked to the body of a now dead ensign and lifted the man's side arm.

He walked back to the center of the command deck and stared at Shaddix. "You, sir, are a traitor. And one way or the other, you will die a traitor."

He fired. Shaddix batted the blaster bolt aside, and it struck a fascinated tech. The tech cried as he collapsed. Tarkin did not even notice as he fired again and again. Every shot was deflected, and another one of the command staff died, until they thought to actually duck down. Shaddix walked slowly toward Tarkin, batting his blaster bolts away.

Tarkin stood his ground, his stern face cold and determined. The determination did not crack until, with a single flick of his blade, Shaddix sent the Moff's gun hand sliding away. The Grand Moff stumbled them, moaning in pain as he clutched as the stump where his hand used to be.

"I want to hate you so badly," Shaddix said. "People like you infuriate me. You have such a casual disregard for life. You just killed two billion innocent beings. Men, women and children. Two billion futures wiped out with a single word from you. And you don't care. Even now, facing your own death, you don't care."

Tarkin stumbled back into a seat—he looked down and saw a dead lieutenant on the floor. Nearby, he saw Motti being viciously brutalized by the alien beast.

"I want to hate you," Shaddix continued, "but then, I'm afraid I would be like you. And frankly, Tarkin, people like you are better off dead than alive."

The last thing Tarkin saw was a flash of red, then an odd sensation of falling and a painful thump. With his last seconds of consciousness, he saw his own headless body slumping out of the seat before the darkness came.

Shaddix took a deep breath. "Everyone else leave now."

The surviving techs and soldiers did not hesitate and ran for one of the doors. With a thought directed at the security panel, Shaddix unlocked a single side entrance just long enough for them to evacuate, before caused it to close and lock again. Shaddix then walked over to the sobbing Motti and grunting water buffalo. With a wave of his hand, the buffalo turned back into Bast, who found himself in a most undignified position over the rear of Admiral Motti.

The general stumbled back in disgust, only to die quickly of a broken neck.

Shaddix knelt down beside the sobbing, broken Motti. "You will never touch a woman again," he said.

Again, a brief flick of his blade, and Motti died.

Shaddix walked back to the row of control panels. He kicked a body aside and sat down at the navigation station. With a few quick keystrokes the powerful navicomp brought up a schematic of the Alderaan System. The nearest world was Raisa, an unoccupied rock close to the sun.

He tapped his comlink. "Nogdra, this is Shaddix."

"M'lord! Are you well?"

"Tarkin and Motti are dead," he said tiredly. "What's your status?"

"All loyal ships suffered heavy damage during our assault on the station, sir, but are still battle worthy. We've suffered thirty percent losses in all fighter squadrons but we now have full space superiority. However, Captain Dietert was killed while trying to slow the Sector Fleet. The Sector Fleet is back en route and will be here in three hours."

Shaddix nodded, expecting as much. "Captain, I've gained control of the Master Command Deck on board the station. I am entering coordinates to ram it into Raisa. It's the only thing I can think off to destroy it."

"What of you, m'lord?"

Shaddix sighed. "I'm pretty tired, Dael. I think I may have overdone it a bit. But its worth it making sure Palpatine doesn't get to keep this monstrosity."

"M'lord…Shaddix…there are two young women here who appear to be very worried about you. Are you sure you don't want to come back?"

"They're victims, Dael. Of me. And the Emperor. Frankly, they'll be better off without me. But don't worry, I'm not giving up yet. Stay with the station as I lead it toward the planet."

"We'll stay with you, m'lord."

Shaddix smiled at the dedication in the captain's voice. "Thank you, Dael. Thank you for believing in me. I'm sorry we weren't able to make our dreams a reality, but this…this is worth dying for. When we're done, I suggest our people join the Alliance."

"I agree. With everything, my friend," came the thoughtful reply.

Shaddix brought up the two powerful Sepma 30-5 sublight engines to full power. The Death Star broke away from the still glowing remnants of Alderaan and flew sunward at a parabolic trajectory to the first planet in the Alderaan system.

The navicomp immediately detected the collision course and tried to compensate, but again Imperial paranoia overcame common sense, and Shaddix was able to stop the automated override with the push of a button.

He sat back and closed his eyes to rest. The sad thing was, he still had no answers. He was going to die not even know what his real name was. Who was _Harry?_ But, he told himself, at least Leia and Mara would be free of him. Both were young, strong and beautiful. They had incredible futures ahead of them. He could not imagine how hard their lives would be around him.

He must have slept some. When his comlink beeped, he sat up in bleary-eyed surprise. "Nogdra?"

"This is Leia," came the hesitant voice.

"Is Mara there as well?" Shaddix asked.

"I'm here," came the other voice. Shaddix realized with a start that he had never heard her speak, before today.

"Are you both okay?" he asked.

"As good as can be," came Leia's response. "Why are you doing this, Shaddix? Are you doing this because of guilt?"

"I have plenty to be guilty about," he said with a grim chuckle. "But no, I'm doing this because machines like this have no place in any civilization. Ever. And sometimes it falls to one or two people to make sure those machines are destroyed. Frankly, I'd rather it be me than anyone else."

"The Alliance could help you."

"But not in time. This has to be done now. This moment is a shatter point, Leia: a single moment in time that can affect the future forever. If I have to die so that you and Mara can live free, then it's a fair trade."

It was a testament to how powerful the sublight engines were that he could already see Raisa, if only a pinprick in the screen.

"We need to talk though," Leia said. "About everything. About you and I and Mara. And that strange vision we had. Mara remembered a man who might even know who you really are."

Shaddix closed his eyes. "Leia, it wasn't right of me to form that bond with you. I had no right. Even if I didn't know it was happening, it's not fair to you or Mara. If I walk out of here and come back to you, that bond isn't going to go away. Is that really what you want?"

The voice that answered was strained. "_Yes_."

Shaddix went very still as the answer swept across from him. "Leia?" he whispered.

He heard a ragged breath on the far side. "We need to talk, Shaddix," she said. "All three of us. We need to talk to you. We will never, ever forgive you if you get yourself killed. I don't care how just your cause is. You come back, because we need to talk to you. Both of us. About what happened. About why I…why we feel this way."

"I…" Shaddix swallowed in a suddenly thick throat. "Is that what you really want?"

"It's what we want," came the voice of Mara. "Everyone is telling me I'm your wife, but I don't even know who you are. Come back."

Shaddix was surprised to feel moisture run down his cheek. "I'll come back. I owe you both too much not to try, if that's what you want."

The navicomp was beeping. Raisa was more than just a speck now—it was a fast approaching planet. He looked at his comlink and was startled at how much time had passed just since he set the course. It had been an hour—an hour that sped by.

He stood from the chair and sighed at the carnage he caused. So much death at his hand. It did not make him feel strong or justified. It made him feel sad and dirty. He concentrated, and with a pop he was somewhere else.

All sense of order on the station was lost. Though he muted the alarm clarion in the command deck, on the rest of the station a proximity alert was ringing loudly. Storm troopers, marines, soldiers and civilian contractors ran about desperately looking for a means to escape the massive station. He moved about completely unnoticed by the panicked populace.

This was his fault, he realized. If these people didn't find a way off in twenty minutes, they were all going to die. He just couldn't… he tapped his comlink. "Nogdra, I will try to get off, but I'm going to organize the evacuation first. It's chaos over here. Watch for me."

"Good luck, m'lord."

He grabbed the arm of a running lieutenant. "Where is the nearest communications substation?" he demanded.

"I… there!" the lieutenant said, pointing.

"Listen to me; no one's going to get off if we don't organize the evacuation. Come with me, now!"

The lieutenant did not even ask who he was; he just followed in Shaddix's wake as he ran into the abandoned communications node. He entered his still valid command codes and turned on the station-wide intercom. "Attention, this is General Bast," he lied, sure his own name would cause more harm than good. "The station is on a collision course with a local planet. We must evacuate the station. All sector commanders are to coordinate through this node. We need to get people to the drop ships. Abandon the walkers and concentrate on people. Respond!"

One by one, frantic sector commanders checked in, desperate for a higher voice to tell them what to do. Shaddix acted the part of that voice, organizing evacuation routes and quickly, hastily drawn procedures. He doubted everyone would get out, but from he saw a good number would.

When the worst of the crush was over, he turned to the lieutenant. "Get out of here. Run to hangar 245-BG. An assault shuttle is waiting for you."

"Thank you, General!" He turned and sprinted out of the room. Shaddix went through the list of transports and saw a small blastboat available still on the northern hemisphere near the pole in an executive bay. Since all the executive staff were dead, it was unlikely anyone even knew of it. He closed his eyes and pulled on his greatly diminished power.

He appeared with a loud pop and stumbled with exhaustion, only to find a blaster pistol pointed at him. He looked up and saw a pilot without his helmet, a Twi'lek civilian, a Mirialan in prisoner bracelets but very nice clothes, and an older human male.

"Have room for one more?" Shaddix asked.

"Find your own," the pilot said. "We're not going back."

Shaddix picked himself up. Even as exhausted as he was, he could have killed them all—he just did not want to. "Defectors," he said.

"The Empire betrayed its own people when it destroyed Alderaan," the pilot said. "Lord Shaddix had the right idea."

He couldn't help his grin. "Well, Lord Shaddix could use a ride off the station if you have room. I pretended to be Bast to organize the evacuation, but I waited because I thought this ship would be available."

"You _are_ Shaddix," the human male said. "I recognize you now."

"I really am. I've set the station for the collision course. Tarkin and the command crew are dead, and I have a few star destroyers waiting fifty thousand klicks away. You get me there, I'll be glad to trade a larger shuttle for the blastboat, and you can go wherever you want."

"It's a trick," the Mirialan said.

"I don't think so," the Twi'lek responded.

Shaddix shrugged, pulled his sabers to the fear of every, and casually tossed them away. "I'm not Sith any more—I don't need those. We have three minutes."

"Fine!" the pilot said. They all ran into the blast boat, the five of them. Shaddix took the co-pilot's seat while the others settled in. They blasted out of the small, executive hangar and immediately found themselves skirting over the barren world of Raisa. The pilot began cursing as he pulled the _Skipray_ up and away from the planet.

"Everyone hang on," he shouted.

The planet of Raisa had a diameter of just under 5000 kilometers. It was made of mostly silicates, nickel and iron.

The Death Star was 160 kilometers in diameter and composed primarily of a quadanium steel superstructure which was a whole order of magnitude denser than iron. More importantly, the Death Star was wrapped around a core of hypermatter that produced more energy than a typical star.

The station struck Raisa at two thirds the speed of light. From the perspective of the many escaping craft, it looked as if the planet were a human's head, shot at point blank by a very large bullet.

The Death Star slammed into the surface. The initial kinetic release sent a plume of fiery ejaculate far out into space, and the plume only grew larger as the rest of the station collapsed into the surface of the already dead planet. A second later the hypermatter reactor ruptured and then exploded.

Half of Raisa and all of the station disappeared in a flash of terrible brilliance.

The Twi'lek screamed as the _Skipray_ began flipping out of control before the shockwave and planetary debris. The flip ended in a bone-cracking impact. Even the pilot grunted in surprise when all sense of motion ended and the fighter went completely still.

"Okay, what the hell happened?" the pilot demanded.

Their exterior hatch opened and a head popped in. "Are you guys okay?"

"Where are we?" the pilot asked.

"The _Fury_. This thing just popped out in the middle of the hangar in a big flash of fire. Almost took out a fighter. Looks like you took some serious fire back here too—your engine assembly is melted! Hey, is that Lord Shaddix?"

The pilot looked and saw Shaddix hanging unconscious from the safety straps. "Yeah, looks like," the pilot said.

"Well, let's get you people out. I'll let Captain Nogdra know he's here. We were worried when he stayed on the station to direct the evacuation."

The pilot looked to the Mirialan. "You all right, Teela?"

"Yeah," she said with a wan smile. "Did we make it, Villian?"

"Looks like it," the pilot, Villian, said. "Doctor Divini, you okay?"

"Fine."

"How 'bout you, Roothes?"

The Twi'lek nodded. "Fine."

The four defectors undid their straps, and then together Villian and Divini undid Shaddix's straps and eased the ex-Sith to the floor of the fighter. "No obvious injuries," Divini said. "Looks dehydrated. But we need to get him checked out to see if there are any internal injuries."

Just then another head popped into the blastboat, this one wearing a captain's cap. "Is…" He sighed. "Is Lord Shaddix alright?"

"As far as I can see. I'm Doctor Kornell Divini."

"Captain Dael Nogdra. Welcome aboard the _Fury_. I'm afraid we are not going to be returning to any Imperial facilities, Doctor. However, we'll be glad to give you a shuttle if you wish to return."

"With all due respect captain," Villian said, "we aren't planning on going back. Not ever."

Nogdra nodded. "Neither are we, Captain. Now, let's see about Lord Shaddix, shall we?"

*This last section is an homage to the novel _Death Star_.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Bonding**

"Bail?"

Bail Organa groaned but did not raise his head from the cradle of his arms. He felt a hand on his shoulder—a gentle hand from an indomitable person. He knew Mon meant well, but sometimes she just didn't understand when to leave a man alone to his grief.

"Bail, she's alive."

He jerked his head up, and then instantly regretted it as the room spun around him. "Urrgh," he groaned. "What?"

Mon Mothma sat in the other chair at his table, while silhouetted against the frame of his suite aboard the _Liberty_ stood his friend Garm Bel Iblis. "Bail, didn't you see the holoreports? The Death Star has been destroyed."

"How?"

Garm stepped into the room and took the final seat at the small bistro table. "Shaddix. He turned on the Empire. There was an open insurrection on the station and Shaddix killed the whole command staff before he personally rammed the station into Raisa."

"More importantly," Mon said, "our listening post on AX-256 received a coded communication from Leia asking for a rendezvous. She's alive, Bail. Leia is alive."

Bail could no more hide his tears of relief than he could have stopped Mon from hugging him in response. "What's happening now?"

"From what our listening posts have been able to determine," Garm said, "Shaddix's fleet is being hounded by the Empire. They have almost an entire Sector Fleet chasing them. They're not out of the woods yet. But Rieekan has an idea. He's suggesting that we designate Hoth as the rendezvous spot, only we're going to mine the hell of the asteroid field that occupies the system with manual trigger mines. We let Shaddix's squadron get through and then trigger the mines. Between the explosions and the debris from the asteroids, it should buy Shaddix's ships enough time to disburse."

"Where is Leia exactly, do we know?"

Mon said, "She said she is on Shaddix's flagship. Evidently the Dark Lord hurt himself trying to save a handful of deserters leaving the station right before it hit Raisa. Your home system has lost two worlds, Bail, but the Death Star is destroyed."

Bail stood, suddenly energized by the news that his daughter was alive. "All right, first thing—I need a detox pill. Second thing, let's go talk to Rieekan. I want to know if this plan can actually work or not."

"Fire control stations report we've lost the aft reactor. All weapons and shields are gone aft of sections Theta Two," Lieutenant Graphis said.

Leia Organa held no rank in the Empire. She was technically a senator, but a senator in a disbanded senate, accused of treason. She should not have been giving orders on a star destroyer. But with the death of the executive officer in the last Imperial ambush, she simply stepped in. At first Captain Nogdra was unsure. After ten minutes his uncertainty was no more, and Leia effectively took over as executive officer of the ship.

"Evacuate all personnel from the unshielded section," she said.

"Navigation, report," Nogdra said from the far side of the burned command deck. The starboard side of the deck was blackened with fire, the transparisteel viewports were gone and the heavy blast shielding was now all that kept atmosphere in the deck. "Time to coordinates?"

"Three minutes, captain," Navigation said. "Tactical reports that enemy vessels are in close pursuit and will emerge from hyperspace within forty seconds of our return. The _Vengeance_ reports they have lost all aft shielding. Their hyperdrive is just barely hanging on."

"Order the _Terminator_ to close ranks with the _Vengeance_ to post cover. Do we have any mines left?"

"Ten, sir. Squadron reports over all we have less than a hundred."

"It will have to do. Have all ships release mines as soon as we revert to hyperspace. Make sure all continue ahead at full sublight."

"Aye, captain."

He walked over to Leia. "The situation is dire, Princess. Any word from your people?"

"Not yet, but…" Both stopped as the communications officer almost jumped out of her station. "Captain, Highness, we're receiving a signal from the rebels! They are setting rendezvous coordinates at…the Hoth System. Just inside a heavy asteroid belt."

"We're only two systems away," Leia said. "Knowing Rieekan, it's probably rigged with mines. It might be enough to break the pursuit."

Nogdra found himself admiring the princess—he saw now why Shaddix was so fascinated by her. "Very well. Tactical, send to all ships—we are changing coordinates. Remain in hyperspace."

The blue vortex outside the remaining viewports shifted as the massive warship changed direction. Tactical suddenly let out a whoop. "Sir, I just got a burst of com traffic. Looks like we just out-flanked a squadron of interdictors that was waiting for us."

"It appears you're good luck, highness," Nogrda said. He smiled, and said, "It will be another hour until we reach Hoth. You've been working nonstop for several hours."

"So have you, Captain."

"Ahh, but you see, I am the captain. I'm trained to do so. However admirably you've filled the role, you are not an officer. Just a very capable, skilled leader. When you come back, I'll have plenty for you to do. But for now, I would breathe easier if you could check on Lord Shaddix for me."

"Fine," Leia said. Truth was, she was exhausted. It wasn't just the past nine hours spent in a state of high alert on the bridge while they fled from a wrathful Empire. It was the days of torture before it, and the emotional turmoil caused by Shaddix. "Thank you. Please contact me before we reach Hoth."

"I will, princess. Rest, now."

She nodded, spared the emergency control officer she worked with a smile, and stumbled across the smashed deck to the still intact command quarters. She stepped around a slick spot where Commander Kaeli died.

The command quarters were stunningly quiet after the constant noise and frenetic pace of the command deck. One of the walls in the living area was blackened and bent from the last attack, but otherwise intact. She walked into the bedroom where Shaddix rested. She was not surprised to find Mara on the bed next to the Dark Lord, sleeping as soundly as he did.

Near the bed, Doctor Kornel Divini read from a hand-held while lounging in a repuslor chair. He looked up with a tired smile. "Well, he's going to be fine, as far as I can tell."

She crossed the room and stood beside the doctor, who was reading over the results of the medical scan they did when they recovered the unconscious Shaddix from the blastboat. Since the ship's own doctor was busy with a load of injuries, the Death Star surgeon agreed to look after Shaddix.

"Why is he unconscious, then?"

"At a guest, I'd say he exhausted whatever power he was using to do the things he did."

"I don't understand. He's a human Sith—he used the Force. Father said Sith and Jedi don't exhaust the Force because it's endless."

Divini looked up at the princess with an exhausted smile. "I've heard that too. I also heard that there was a connection between the Force and midi-chlorians. All life in this galaxy has midi-chlorians, from the most basic single-celled bacterium to rancors and Gamorrean sows. Every life form, that is, except Lord Shaddix."

"What?"

"He does not have a single midi-chlorian in his body. And after scanning him, I'm not convinced he's human, either. Near human, to be sure. But he has a structure in his brain I've never seen before, and his body is producing some type of bioelectrical field at a wavelength I've never encountered. Only, it was very, very low. In fact, it was almost nonexistent during the first scan. It's been steadily building up, which leads me to think that this field is where he derives his power, and he simply exhausted it."

"Amazing," Leia whispered.

"Doctor Forshad has more work than he can handle. Whatever his circumstances are, I believe Lord Shaddix is going to fully recover. Strangely enough, that energy field of his actually increased more quickly when that pretty girl of his climbed onto the bed next to him. Who knows, if you join them he might actually wake up. Until then, I'm going to see where else I'm needed."

"Thank you, doctor."

He nodded and left the room. Leia walked over to the bed, noticing it was wide enough for her as well as the others. She was tired—more tired than any point she could remember. The exhaustion sapped her muscles and even made the bones in her legs hurt. With a sigh, she laid down on the bed, facing him.

"What am I going to do with you, Shaddix?" she said softly.

Before she was even aware of it, her eyes closed and she fell into a deep, profound sleep. Almost immediately, she began to dream. She stood in the dark, naked and alone. Given the events of the past two days, the dream should have been a nightmare, but her nudity did not make her feel insecure or scared. Rather it made her feel fresh and free. The darkness did not hint at terrors, but rather comfort and peace.

Ahead, a white light formed. She walked toward it, drawn by the beauty and purity of the light. She grew closer, and across from the light she saw Mara approaching, as naked and beautiful as Leia herself felt. Between them lay a strange image. It was Shaddix, laying on the bed unconscious, and above him a spark of brilliant light.

She saw motion to her right and saw a shadow stand beside her. The shadow was obviously feminine in shape, but she could not make out any features. To her left, another feminine shadow appeared. A third shadow stepped to Mara's side.

As with her own nakedness and the darkness around them, the shadows did not make Leia feel frightened or unsure. Rather, she felt as if she had known these shadows for the whole of her life. That she loved them with a love so pure it was as beautiful as the light that hung over Shaddix.

"We are for him," the shadows said. Leia spoke the words right along with them. "Our souls anchor him. Our wills guide him. Our minds shape him. Our love gives him purpose. We are for him."

Leia climbed onto the bed, as did Mara. The other shadows followed, and the brilliant white light began to descend into Shaddix's chest, only to flicker and fade. "Not enough," one of the shadows said with a sad moan. "Not enough."

Leia cried bitterly as the brilliant light rose up while growing dimmer, until it disappeared from view. She felt so lonely, even though she was holding Shaddix and kissing him and moving her leg over his manhood as her desire mounted and…holy gods of Alderaan, what was she doing?

Leia almost jumped off the bed when she realized she was half out of her white robes and that Shaddix himself was almost completely disrobed. Moreover, she could see on the other side of the still unconscious man, Mara was in a similar state of undress.

The red head blinked tired and sat up. "What's wrong?"

Leia sputtered. "Look at yourself and ask that again."

She looked down at her undone tunic, and then blushed. "Oh. But wow, that was some dream. I wonder what those shadows meant?"

Leia was in the process of fixing her robes when she looked up in shock. "You had the same dream?"

"With Shaddix on the bed, the light and the three shadow ladies? Yeah. I'm almost sad you woke me up." She looked down at Shaddix and Leia could see the lust in the redhead's eyes, because she was feeling the same exact thing. "I want him so badly. Don't you?"

"It isn't proper," Leia insisted, despite her own overwhelming desire. "Especially not with both of us."

Mara shrugged and fixed her tunic. "Too bad. I think it would be incredible with us both."

Before Leia could respond, the chime announced a visitor. The two women went to the door and saw Captain Nogdra. "Ahh, good, your both awake. We're a few minutes from Hoth. I thought you'd both like to see what's happening?"

"Hoth?" Mara asked.

"The Alliance got through to us. I'm hoping they've set a trap."

"Oh. Goody."

Leia took the younger woman's arm and led her to a corner of the command station. "What?" Mara demanded.

"I need to know you're not going to betray the Alliance," Leia said. "I realize you've been through a lot in the past day. We all have. But I am not going to endanger my father and the rest of the Alliance by bringing a saboteur into their ranks."

Mara jerked her arm free. "Don't worry yourself, princess. I'm not going to do anything stupid."

"Mara," Leia said, "you realize that Shaddix was going to overthrow the Emperor, don't you?"

"I figured that out all on my own, Princess," Mara said with a roll of her eyes. "He was going to fail. My master is the most powerful Sith there ever was."

"You're master condemned you to two years of stasis," Leia pointed out. "He laughed at your loyalty."

The redhead's expression sank. "I know," she said, softly this time.

"Please, just don't do anything without checking with Shaddix or me first, okay? My father is on the Executive Council for the Alliance, and I have some influence myself. Please just trust us."

"Because trusting people has worked out so well for me," Mara said.

"We're dropping out of hyperspace," navigation reported. The two women turned in time to see the swirling blue tunnel of hyperspace fade. Suddenly a field of rocks soared into view.

"All ships, evasive action," Nogdra shouted. "Weave through the field. It looks like this is a less dense area. Slow to one tenth sublight."

The squadron of three star destroyers, four _Nebulon-B_ frigates and five heavy assault cruisers slowed to a fraction of their previous speed as they entered the asteroid field. Not a minute later, tactical announced that the enemy ships of the pursuing sector fleet had also dropped out of hyperspace.

Leia walked to the tactical pit and saw a force that could have destroyed the Alliance with ease in a pitched battle—ten star destroyers and hundreds of smaller frigates and assault cruisers. It was, as far as she knew, the largest massing of ships since the Clone Wars.

"We're breaking through the field," navigation said.

Tactical, a heartbeat later, said, "Pursuing ships are entering the field."

Leia felt Mara step up beside her as they watched the holographic tactical map of the enemy fleet. "The Emperor is really, really mad at Shaddix," Mara whispered.

When a full third of the enemy fleet was in the field, the first mines went off. Void-9 seismic charges ripped even the largest of the asteroids apart, sending massive shockwaves and ship-sized debris into the vulnerable fleet. Mile-long star destroyers bounced about like children's playthings while smaller frigates and cruisers crumpled under the huge explosions.

"Nice," Mara said with open admiration. "Whoever is commanding that fleet is a dead man for flying right into that trap."

"Indeed," Nogdra said. He nodded to communications. "Give the word, all ships are to disburse and then rendezvous in twelve hours at the coordinates previously supplied."

"Yes, Captain!"

One by one, star destroyers, frigates and cruisers broke ranks and flew in different directions, until at last only the _Fury_ remained. The tactical map showed that surviving enemy ships were already clearing the mind field by simply blasting their way through.

"Weapons control," Nogdra said. "Fire a single heavy concussion missile at the lead enemy ship. Program it for the command deck if you will." The captain turned to the two women. "Something to remember us by."

"Missile launched," weapons control said.

"Navigation, take us on course 256 by 246 by 234 for thirty seconds, then redirect to our programmed course heading."

The star destroyer blew into hyperspace, going north of the Hoth System ecliptic and avoiding the asteroid belt entirely. Thirty seconds of hyperspace took them out of the system proper into free space. The ship came to a halt, and seconds later was again going through space.

Just then Colonel Celchu stepped onto the deck, his cheeks smeared with blood. "Captain," he said with a sharp salute. "We have the injured stowed."

"What's our casualty count?"

The Alderaanian man's face fell. "Over six thousand killed, another five thousand injured. Many of those are not expected to make it. We've converted two hangar bays into infirmaries."

Leia tried not to gasp at the horrendous numbers. The captain nodded grimly. "I suspected it would be high. We took a pounding. When's the last time you slept, Colonel?"

"I've had five hours in the last twelve. I'm good."

"Excellent. I am going on my second day without sleep. You're in command. Wake me when we reach our rendezvous point." With that, Captain Nogdra nodded to his command staff, Leia and Mara, and then walked resolutely into his quarters next to the Command Quarters.

Celchu did not even blink an eye. "Everyone who has been on duty for more than twelve hours, contact your shift change. If you're shift change staff has been injured or killed, let me know and we'll work something out. We need to all get some rest while we can."

Leia watched as her fellow Alderaanian quietly and confidently worked out a shift change to give the exhausted command crew a much-needed rest. Her one hour did wonders for her, but already the adrenaline from the escape was wearing out.

She felt a hand on her arm and turned to see Mara looking at her with a serious expression. "I've had plenty of sleep. Why don't you go lay down."

Too tired to argue, Leia nodded and left the command deck. When she was gone, Mara turned to Celchu. "Nobody goes in that room. Now, I'm rated for all positions on this deck—where do you need me?"

In the room, Leia once more collapsed on the bed next to the still unconscious Shaddix. She noted that his uniform was still undone from the naughty dream she and Mara had. His slacks were half off, revealing the black underclothes. His exposed chest bore a crisscrossing of scars that looked as if they were only a year or so old.

_My master enjoys giving pain_, he told her during that last confrontation on the Death Star. She could see now what he meant. She pulled the rest of his tunic off, rolling him where she had to, until she could see he had more scars on his back. She let him lay back on the bed and removed his slacks. He lay on the bed, clad only in his undergarments. The scars continued onto his legs but ended at his knees, as if whoever gave him the scars wanted to make sure only his soft flesh was struck or cut.

Looking at him as she was, she was almost overcome with a sudden, almost painful desire. She wanted him so badly she ached with the need. Instead, she sighed, pulled off her own fouled senatorial robes, and stepped into the shower. Unlike most quarters on a ship, these quarters had a real water shower. She sighed in relief as two days of accumulated filth washed away.

When she emerged, she looked at herself in the mirror, examining her body. There were no scars, just her. She remembered the dream again, how free and wonderful it felt. She started to wrap herself in the towel, but stopped for some reason not even she could articulate. Instead, she walked back out of the fresher to the man on the bed.

"What am I doing?" she whispered to herself, even as she climbed onto the bed. She laid down next to him, intimately aware of the feel of his skin against her breasts. Almost as soon they touched, she felt a stabbing sensation of white heat in her loins. Only, it did not hurt. It left her gasping, but not with pain. Rather, it was intense pleasure.

She watched as his chest reddened, and the flush ran up his neck into his face, proof he too was feeling the contact. With a sudden intake of breath, his eyes popped open. "Leia!" he breathed.

He spun and saw her laying there, and she could see shock, recognition, and then a smoldering desire flit through those brilliant green eyes. He did not ask where they were, or what was happening. Instead, he rolled onto his side to face her, and with one gentle hand he caressed her cheek.

"Is this real?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I…" He swallowed. "I hurt you so badly."

"You did."

"And while I was hurting you, I fell in love with you," he continued. "You were so strong and so beautiful. So perfect. I never imagined anyone could be so strong. I hated myself for hurting you. I wanted to die because of what I did to you. But you stopped me—you beat me and made me realize everything I was told was a lie. You saved me."

"You saved me too," she said. "I don't know if this is love I feel or not. But I do want you. I will never forgive you if you leave me, Shaddix. Not now. Not until I understand what is happening."

"I…" He stopped talking when Leia leaned forward and their lips met. The white-hot power surged through her again, and all thought of restraint fled. Trembling hands fought against the fabric of his under garments. She pushed him back onto his back, kissing his mouth, neck and chest, even as her hand sought for and found his manhood.

He slid into her, and the sheer, abiding ecstasy of it made her scream. He moaned as well as the two began moving frantically against each other, caught in the power of their coupling. The climax came so powerfully Leia almost convulsed with it, moaning now as she didn't have the strength to scream.

Still shaking with the pleasure of her climax, she rolled off him. Somehow, she was not surprised to find Mara there, as nude as they were, her eyes glassy with desire. "Please," she whispered before she leaned down to kiss him.

Leia should have felt a stab of jealously as she watched this beautiful young woman kiss and then mount the man she just gave herself to, but like in the dream there was none. Rather, she felt somehow as if it were right to have Mara there as well, moaning as she made love to their common man.

She was too lost in the power of the moment to question it. And when they finished, she curled up next to him just as Mara did, and he held them both tightly.

Only then, when the worst heat of passion faded, did her intellect finally catch up. "How am I going to explain this to my father?"

* * *

End Part I

**Part II: Gods and Monsters**

**Chapter Thirteen: Taloo, Talla, Talay!**

Captain Kyle Katarn made a single wave with his left hand, and a squad of four SpecForce soldiers rushed passed him in a running duck, taking cover behind a row of spent tabanna gas canisters. His own squad followed a moment later with their intel agent a step behind.

The steady rain which had fallen unceasingly since they landed interfered with Kyle's hearing, and dampened the effectiveness of the thermal monocle that hung down from his helmet visor. "Motion tracker?' he asked.

Behind him, agent Jan Ors checked her handheld and shook her head. "Nothing," she said in a quiet tone that actually travelled less distance than a typical whisper. "All the base's point defenses are inactive. Not a single blast mark. No indication of fire at all."

"They were shooting at something," Kyle muttered. The parade ground in front of the base was blackened and cratered with laser canon fire. But Jan was right—the base showed no sign of receiving fire from whatever landed. On the other hand, they had only received one message—that Tak Base, the rebel fortification on the planet Talay, was going into secure lock down due to an enemy attack.

"As far as I can see, the area is clear of all enemy activity. No motion. No EM readings indicating attack droids."

"Fine," Kyle said. He stood while the rest of his men staying under cover, and walked nervously across the killing zone in front of the base until he reached the main entrance. The security pad was flashing red, indicating the base was still in lockdown.

When no enemy fire came, Kyle motioned and the rest of his two squads followed. They took up position on either side of the door with their weapons at the ready. Kyle took the Command Override crystal out and slipped it into the security pad.

The flashing red panel turned green, and the heavy door groaned as it began to lower. Kyle stepped back and gripped his own rifle to be at the ready. A wave of air rushed out of the entrance, bringing with it the gagging smell of rancid, decaying flesh and death.

"Force preserve us," Jan muttered. "What is that stench?"

"Secure for biohazard," Kyle ordered. He reached up and tapped the edge of his helmet. Biogauze popped out from around the rim with a static seal around the edge which connected to and secured itself against the collar of his uniform. He sealed the space between his gloves and the sleeves of his uniform, and then activated the small air scrubber in his backpack.

It took him less than sixty seconds. The others were all ready at around the same time. "This is when I miss storm trooper armor," he muttered. "On three, secure all zones. One, two, three, go go go!"

The eight soldiers, Kyle and Jan rushed through the door and assumed positions that formed a hemisphere which covered every angle within the door. "Clear," the soldiers said quietly, one area by another, until they visually cleared the entrance.

"Looks like the interior has been locked down," Jan quickly said. "Every door is secured."

"Good, we can clear them out door by door. Sholly, secure the front. Set up the e-web. Friend or foe recognitions on, please. I'd rather not get shot by my own guns."

"Come on, it'd be fun," Sholly said.

Something else stormtroopers never did—Rebel soldiers talked back.

Kyle couldn't deny they were good, though. They went to the first door on their left and entered the override. With their biohazard gauze up, they could not smell the air any more, but it was thick enough he could almost _see_ the stench.

"What the hell happened here?' he asked as the nine of them once again assumed the hemisphere position. Lights overhead were flickering on and off. It actually hung from the ceiling, as if something had struck it.

One they cleared the room, they left the door open and crossed through to the next door. It opened, and they found their first body, or at least a part of it. In fact, it was a torso and half a head, and one arm. The rest was smeared across the floor, as if it had been dragged. The insignia on the torn uniform indicated the woman—for the torso had obviously been female—held the rank of second lieutenant.

"_E chu ta!_" Jan muttered. "Kyle, you feeling any ju-ju?"

Kyle closed his eyes, trying out his fledging Force skills. "All I sense is dark."

"Dark as in the lights aren't working, or dark as in trying to eat your guts and suck your souls out through your noses."

"Uh, the latter."

"_E chu ta chaoi!"_ she said. "So, what next?"

"We need to get to the command room and get the base log to find out what happened," he said. "What's the most direct route?"

"Back the way we came, then right two rooms, then a turn left."

"Fine, let's move out.

Sholly was waiting for them, alert and nervous. "What's up?"

"Something in this place farkled-up a lieutenant beyond recognition."

"You couldn't make out her face?'

"She didn't have one," Kyle said. "We're going straight to the command center to get the surveillance crystals, then we're going to blow the base and leave. Be on alert—there was something very not nice here, and it feels like it may still be here."

They went to the room Jan indicated and overrode the lock. The door opened and the first trooper started to move in when a large gray claw slashed out, impaling the man in the stomach and then ripping up with a wet, tearing sound. The body flew back into one of his companions while the rest of the soldiers jumped back in terror.

A monstrosity jumped out of the room, snarling and snapping massive jaws. It appeared roughly bipedal, with slick, heavily veined gray skin and massive claws for hands. Its head was a misshapen lump with two huge nose slits and two tiny eyes on either side of them. It roared and surged toward Kyle.

Training overcame paralyzing fear. He did not fire his blaster; he pulled his lightsaber and slashed in five quick strikes, just as Master Kenobi had taught him.

Whatever the creature was, it was not immune to the tool of the Jedi, even one only a year into his training. The monster fell in pieces to the floor and did not move.

"Stans is gone!" a soldier over the body said.

"What was that?" Kyle snapped.

"I think that was a rakghoul," Jan said in a shaky voice.

"A what?" Kyle said.

Sholly from the door said, "We are so farkled."

"Shut it!" Kyle said. "Our objective has not changed. We go in tight and ready for action. Four ahead, one on either side, the rest facing back. Shoot anything that moves. Open up your guns to full power and don't be afraid of using your plasma charges."

They quickly assembled and stepped into the room. The walls were coated in blood, and in a corner they could see bones and other body remnants, including an oddly intact, even pristine left foot.

They tried not thinking about it and unlocked the next room. The room was occupied, but the rakghoul was on the far side of the room, eating what looked like a human arm. It looked up with a snarl, only to be met with the concentrated fire of eight very scared soldiers. Even so, it still managed to stand and take a step forward before it died.

"One more room to clear, then the command room," Jan said.

Kyle stared to override the door, but paused. "What is it?" Jan asked.

"A feeling," he said. "The kind of feeling that got me out of your trap on AX-456." He backed off from the door. "Dannis, Chubbs, heavy weapons on the door. I'm not sure I can do this, but I don't want anyone next to that door when it opens."

Kyle closed his eyes to center himself, while his men and Jan fell silent. When Kyle opened his eyes, the override crystal in his hand lifted gently into the air, and floated toward the door panel. "Get ready," he said.

He used the Force to guide the crystal into the door. The light when from red to green, and the door opened.

The rakghouls poured out roaring. Dannis and Chubbs opened up with their heavy blaster repeaters, while the rest fired their assault rifles. The first rakghoul through the door took three stutter steps before it fell, but immediately behind it another monster burst out. Chubbs screamed but continued firing into the creature's chest. A third jumped toward Dannis, only to stop mid air and fly back into the door to meet a fourth still trying to get out.

Kyle dropped his hand, pulled his blaster rifle and shot the creature that had its jaws around Chubbs' face directly in the head. It fell off Chubbs, who was moaning in agony. Dannis continued firing, and Jan cocked a plasma charge into her rifle's secondary launcher and fired. The plasma charge hit the forth rakghoul in the chest and blew the creature apart, splattering the room beyond it, while the third faltered and died under Dannis' withering fire.

When no more rakghouls came through, they stopped firing and turned to Chubbs.  
"Mikales," Kyle said softly, "take his weapon. Chubbs, can you hear me?"

"Eeerrrgh," came the grunted reply. The rakghoul's jaw encompassed the whole of the man's head, with puncture wounds at the top of his skull and in his chin.

Jan knelt down and applied bacta patches to the wounds. "You hang in their Chubbs," she said. "We'll get you on the way back and you'll be just fine." After the patches were on, she injected him with a general antibio regimen and painkiller cocktail developed for field injuries.

She stood and shivered. "How could this happen?" she whispered. "There hasn't been a rakghoul plague in thousands of years. I didn't even know they still existed other than myths to scare naughty children."

"Hell, these things scare naughty commandos," Kyle muttered. "Is everyone else ready? Next room after this one is the command room. We grab the crystal, and then we get the hell out."

They stepped into the cleared room and walked toward the transparisteel windows that let them see into the command room. As they did so, Kyle felt sick. The whole room was covered not just in blood, but what looked like assorted organs, limbs, heads and other body parts. He could recognize a few of the heads from the briefing they received on the way to investigate why the Alliance lost contact with the base.

Moving through the carnage were almost a dozen rakghouls.

"Yep, we're farkled," Jan muttered. "Just four of those broke through our heavy weapons."

"I know," Kyle said. Strangely, the rakghouls didn't even seem aware of the observers on the other side of the room. Perhaps because they couldn't smell them. "Jan, where are the surveillance crystals?"

"See that computer console on the far side, second one from the wall?"

"Yeah."

"The crystals are inside that. I don't think you could use the Force to get them."

"Well, didn't hurt to ask."

Kyle looked around the room and saw what looked like a snack box. "Let's move that box over to the window."

Once the box was moved, Kyle stepped up onto the meter wide box, and used his lightsaber to burn a six centimeter wide hole. The moment he put away his lightsabers, the rakghouls began howling and running about the room.

"I think they can smell us now," Jan said.

"Joy," Kyle muttered. "Get your thermal detonators out."

Each of them carried two detonators. Kyle started with his own. He reached up and slipped the detonator into the hole, and clicked the delayed start on it, but did not push it through. He raised a hand, using the Force to guide the detonator into the room. He moved it directly into the path of a rakghoul. The monster paused to sniff at it just as it detonated.

The blast knocked Kyle off the box, though it did not break through the transparisteel. When the smoke cleared, his target rakghoul and another one close by were dead, and the others were already feeding.

"I am going to be sick," Jan said.

"Later!" Kyle said. He slipped two more detonators through, activated them, and guided both directly into the hive of feeding monsters. He braced himself better this time and hopped down on his own as the two explosives detonated. When the smoke cleared, the rakghouls were dead.

"And that's how it's done," Kyle said. He entered the override, and they rushed into the room with weapons ready. The only movement came from one twitching rakghoul with no legs. Dannis put it down without hesitation, while Jan ran toward the surveillance console. Kyle stood watch over her, his lightsaber in one hand and his blaster rifle in the other.

She had the console open and was digging into its guts in seconds. "Got them!" she said. "Base recordings since we lost contact, and it looks like we even have a couple of sentry logs as well. Let's… Kyle, what is that?"

Kyle followed her gaze at what looked like a black armored storm trooper, only one unlike any he'd ever seen. For one, it was a droid—a droid the rakghouls had obviously torn apart. But the concerning part of it was that it was clearly of Imperial design, including the assault rifle a few feet from it.

Kyle grabbed the rifle. "We'll look at this once we get back to base. In the meantime, let's get the hell out of here."

They all turned to go, but froze.

Chubbs stood in the doorway, only it wasn't Chubbs. His face looked as if it were melting, with black ooze running from his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Already his mandible jutted out far further than it should have, and his hair was falling out even as they watched. "Help me!" he growled. They heard a snapping sound and it looked if something squashed his head. His face jutted forward violently while the crown of his skull dropped. He seemed to swell, and they all heard the tearing sound as slick, vein-riddled gray skin expanded underneath the clothes.

"Chubbs," Kyle whispered. "Dannis, take him out!"

Dannis was too paralyzed by fear to move. It was Mikales, carrying Chubbs repeater blaster, who stepped forward and opened fire in a long, continuous spray that splattered the mutating Chubbs all over the wall behind him.

"Sholly!" Jan whispered.

"Lets go, flank!" Kyle shouted. The seven of them left the command center and ran through the other rooms in time to hear a man screaming in terror and pain. They emerged in the main entrance to see the creature that had once been Stanns ripping Sholly's head off while burying its face in his torn abdomen to feed.

"Bastard!" Dannis screamed. He opened fire, and Mikales followed. In seconds, the last rakghoul was dead, leaving only seven of the ten left.

"Come on," Kyle said darkly. "We're getting the hell of this rock, and we are burning this base into atoms!"

Shaddix looked odd with blond hair and brown eyes. With a little makeup to give the illusion that his cheekbones were more pronounced, the minor alterations completely changed the appearance of his face.

Mara knew her appearance was altered just as much. Her bright red hair had been dyed a thick, raven black. She too had minor prosthetics to change the contours of her face so that the security scanners could not easily recognize her.

The two of them walked along the promenade that surrounded Imperial University. In its different incarnations, the University was one of the oldest continuous organizations still in existence, approaching 15,500 years of operations. Though the Republic had fallen, the University merely changed its name and accepted a new Imperially-appointed chancellor. Certain subjects of study were taboo, and COMPNOR had a larger role in the development and oversight of the curriculum, but many of the professors that taught were the same professors teaching when the Republic fell.

The campus was a place of idyllic, serene beauty. The promenade encompassed almost two hundred square kilometers in various gardens and walkways in the upper levels of the city, with tall, ivory and glass towers rising high over the surrounding cityscape. Only the distant dark mountain of the Imperial Palace rose higher, and no building rose higher than Palpatine's palace.

Students, primarily human or near human, walked leisurely about, debating the philosophies of beings who would have spat at their discussions, while a kilometer under their feet sentient aliens starved and huddled in shadows to hide from their human oppressors.

"Lofty minds thinking lofty thoughts while people starve below," Shaddix whispered softly.

"I take it you didn't go to University either, then?"

"If I did, I can't remember," he said with a wry smile.

Mara took his hand, and as had been the case for the last six months of their lives together, the contact caused a thrill of excitement to run through her. Just touching the man excited her like nothing she ever dreamed. There was no question in her mind that she loved him; and she knew despite her protestations, Leia felt the exact same way.

They had to speak softly since they had no idea which of the students was a card-carrying member of the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order or not. COMPNOR was not just the official political party of the Empire, it was the umbrella organization that controlled the Imperial Security Bureau, with a charge to maintain the morals or loyalty of all Imperial citizens. It flooded every educational institution in the Empire with members of the Coalition for Progress, a sub-party that acted as a secret police.

It was one of the many reasons their being on campus was such a risk.

"Do you think the Chair is even in?" Shaddix asked.

"The directory said he was," Mara said. "We can't risk a name search in case he's under observation. This is a big enough risk as is."

"But you think he knows who I am," Shaddix said. It was not a question; rather it was the answer and the reason. "I just hope he's here."

"From what I gathered, he never leaves the department. He maintains an apartment in the same building. He hasn't actually left the campus in two years," Mara said.

"Paranoia?"

"It's not paranoia…"

"If they really are after you," Shaddix said with a dark chuckle. "No need to quote me to myself. So, this is it, right?"

The Department of Antiquities was housed in a pyramidal tower that rose from a grove of modified Bosshhk evergreen trees. The two made their way to the main entrance, undergoing a quick security scan to confirm neither carried weapons. The security droid merely beeped at them to continue into the broad, open atrium. The size of the building itself was impressive, especially considering they had an ancient Sith starfighter from over three thousand years previous on display, among many other ancient starfighters and other artifacts.

The walls were paneled in ancient stone or metal reliefs lifted from archeological sites around the galaxy. With the rows of trees that ran down the length of the triangular atrium, it gave the whole atrium the feel of an historical park.

"You'd better let me handle this part," Mara said with a smirk as she walked to the white reception desk. A bored undergraduate student sat pretending to read a holopad while at the same time playing soltar on the department monitor. A silver protocol droid stood nearby.

"Excuse me," Mara said. The young man looked up and blinked at her.

"Er…yes?"

"I was wondering if it would be possible to make an appointment with Professor Hastlebrandt?"

"Professor doesn't take appointments with non-students," the boy blurted by rote.

Mara leaned over the desk, knowing full well that her shirt's neck-line was cut low enough to give the young man a show. She was not disappointed when his eyes dropped. "He…he really doesn't…"

"I have something for him, though," Mara said with a light, plaintive tone. "I am a former student and I've always wanted to come show him how much I appreciated his recommendation. He helped get me into the graduate program on Chandrila."

The boy stammered a moment, and then said, "TC?"

The droid shook its head, and in gender-neutral voice said, "Professor Hastlebrandt is in his office at the moment. Shall I tell him a young lady is here to pay her respects?"

"Errr…yeah."

Mara saw the boy's earpiece turn red to indicate he was speaking to someone. "Yeah," was all he said. Mara never heard the question, but suspected it had something to do with her general appearance.

The boy's cheeks reddened a little. "He said go on up. Second elevator on your right, through there."

"Thank you," Mara said. She straightened and walked to the elevator with an extra sway to her hips. She suspected the boy was forwarding images of her to the expectant professor—at least she hoped so.

Shaddix was already waiting for her by the elevator when it opened. She walked brazenly inside, while Shaddix managed to slip in under the security eye that viewed the majority of the car. They emerged in a large, luxuriously appointed foyer just off the turbolift at the very top level of the tower. The level was not large, being at the top of a pyramidal tower, and so they could see through slanted windows a breath-taking view of the city to either side.

"Ready for action?" Shaddix asked.

"Yes," Mara said.

The doors opened and Professor Hastlebrandt stepped out with a greasy, expectant smile. The smile froze when he saw Shaddix. "Hello, Professor," Shaddix said. He held out a hand and with a flick of power sent the professor flying back through the doors of his office with a loud, "Umph!"

Mara quickly moved in and closed her eyes as she extended her senses. "Three monitors—they know we're here. We don't have much time."

Shaddix raised a hand, and around the office three devices sparked and died. He closed the door behind him and locked it. "Professor, we don't have much time. So I'm going to be blunt."

He grabbed the man and lifted him off the floor with one Force-empowered arm. "Who am I?"

"I don't…" The gangly professor with the thin, rapidly graying hair gasped. "Shaddix!"

He turned and stared at Mara as if seeing her for the first time. "And you…you're alive. I was so scared you wouldn't survive."

Shaddix let the man drop. "Tell me what happened. Who am I? Why can't I remember?"

Hastlebrant sank into one of the two repulsor chairs in front of his desk. "You can't remember because you don't have enough wives."

"What?" Mara sputtered. "What does that have to do anything?"

"It has everything to do with it," Hastlebrandt said. He turned and gazed into Shaddix's eyes. "If only I could give you the book. But he took it, and when he found out I made a copy he…punished me."

"The Emperor," Shaddix said. "I don't have time, Hastlebrandt. Tell me. Who am I?"

"You're the Forever Mage. The Lord of Light. You're a…."

It was too good to be true, Shaddix knew. Somehow, he shouldn't have been surprised when the Emperor chose that moment to strike in the form of a Tenloss disruptor. A thin beam of yellow light sliced into the professor's head. He made an odd gurgling noise before the molecules in his body lost their cohesion and he quickly vaporized into gas.

"Down!" Shaddix yelled. He dove and tackled Mara just as another beam sliced through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the office and burned a small hole in the wall. The Tenloss weapon could burn through objects, but it only vaporized organic matter, making it an ideal assassin's weapon.

"Can you sense him?" Mara asked.

"He's in a speeder a hundred feet out the window," Shaddix said. He closed his eyes, and outside they heard a loud explosion. Mara stuck her head out the window to see a speeder spiraling down into the base of the tower.

The doors of the office bulged before a harsh kick, but held.

"Damn," Shaddix muttered. "Damn, damn, damn! We were so close! I'm so tempted to just teleport in there and kill the old bastard!"

"You're not that powerful," Mara warned, half-afraid he actually would. "There was a coup attempt when I was nine. Almost a full legion of clones broke past the crimson guard. He killed them all, Shaddix. All at once."

The doors bulged again, and then sparked before a blaster bolt. Evidently Hastlebrandt had been very paranoid—his doors were reinforced.

"Fine, we run," he growled. He stood, raised a hand to the windows, and they exploded out as a rush of wind pushed at them. "You ready?"

"What are you…?"

He grabbed Mara, slung her into his arms, and then jumped through the shattered window. She couldn't help the cry of surprise and fear as they fell down the sides of the tower. Somehow, Shaddix bunched his feet and kicked off the sloping wall, throwing them even further out into the open air. The ground rushed at them, until she felt a surge of power that slowed them both.

They landed with barely a bending of his knees, and he immediately let her go. Not far away, a transport began unloading more storm troopers as students and faculty fled in terror. Shaddix grabbed the transport with his mind and slung it, half-full of troopers, into one of the many oversized statues of Palpatine that littered the university grounds.

The two started running away from the remaining troopers toward the speeder they arrived in. "Well," Shaddix said as he ran, "there goes that lead."

"Could be worse," Mara said. "He could have said you were really Palpatine's bastard."

"Mara, I love you, but have I ever told you how sick you can be?"

She laughed as she ran, thrilled to hear him say that he loved her. Yes, things could get worse.

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: The Infamous Princess **

Leia sat up in bed with a sigh. "Lights."

The lights came on, revealing what she already knew. The bed was empty; she was alone.

Six months ago, she had never shared a bed with anyone, lover or friend. But then Shaddix came blazing into her life, and all that changed. Now she found she could not sleep without Shaddix and Mara there.

She climbed out of bed and looked at her chrono. It was only an hour before she planned to wake anyway, so she decided to begin her day early. After her morning toilet, she made her way into General Vernan's office to get a copy of the daily intelligence reports. Once she had the secure download, she made her way to the cantina for breakfast and caf.

She settled into her normal seat to read. The first report was about the loss of the Tak Base on Talay. She read through Katarn's and Ors' separate reports each twice. Katarn came to the Alliance with Shaddix's highest recommendation and a suggestion that he was a Force-potential, and Vernan quickly put him into the field with a commission after an intensive, three month Force-training program conducted by Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Knight Ylenic It'kla. If the reports from Katarn and Ors were correct, the commission was well deserved. Rakghouls—just the thought made her shiver. She noticed they had a clue they were following up on.

Before she could read more, an intruder sat down across from her. "Hi!"

She sighed. "Good morning, Luke."

"That's all you have to say for your brother?"

"Good morning, dear brother," she said, smiling in spite of herself.

She had a brother. Somehow, she had a brother. Obi-Wan and Luke had appeared at the base on day a week after they arrived, and Obi-Wan quickly told the true story of Luke, Leia and Darth Vader. The irony was not lost on Mara and Shaddix, either.

"So, let me get this right. After two years of the Empire believing I'm the secret love child of Anakin Skywalker, it turns out that I'm not, but you are?" Mara said when Obi-Wan told them the story of Anakin Skywalker, a story that was rendered less pertinent with the death of Darth Vader.

Luke smiled that infectious smile of his until she smiled back. "Sorry, long night."

He nodded. "'Cause Shaddix and Mara are gone?"

Luke was at once observant and obtuse. It was an irritating facet of her brother that he could see right to the heart of any matter concerning those around him, while at the same time missing anything pertinent to himself. He had a deep, abiding crush on Mara. He knew that Leia loved Shaddix. So somewhere in his thick skull was an insane belief that Mara would leave Shaddix for him, and the two couples would live happily ever after.

He just didn't understand—Leia loved Mara as much as she loved Shaddix. She missed them both.

"They're scheduled to return today," she said.

Her morning routine was then disrupted into complete disarray when her father arrived. "Good morning, dear," he said with a kiss to her forehead as he settled into a seat at her table with his own palm reader and a cup of caf. "Good morning, Lieutenant Skywalker."

"Good morning, sir."

"I understand you are training with Master Kenobi," Bail Organa said. "How goes it?"

"It's amazing, sir!" Luke said.

"I'm glad to hear it. Lieutenant, I was hoping to have a moment alone with my daughter this morning. Would you be willing to excuse us?"

"Of course sir!" Luke said. He stuffed his morning roll into his mouth, swigged his caf, and gave a brief wave at Leia before turning to leave.

Leia smiled in farewell and then pointedly returned to her reader. Without looking at her father, she said: "Well, it's been at least three weeks since the last time, so I'm assuming you wanted to talk about my love life again?"

Bail sighed tragically. "Leia, you are a Princess of Alderaan. An Organa of House Organa. Even if our world is no more, we continue! It is not appropriate for you to be in a polygamous relationship. It is against the law!"

"On Alderaan," Leia said softly. "Father, I know you don't understand. And I know I've not done well explaining it. I'm sorry. But…I love them both. I haven't slept since they left, I miss them so. There is no jealousy. Do you realize we have never once actually had a fight? Do you remember Baron Delstin, the boy you tried to set me up with when I was fifteen?"

"A good, handsome, intelligent boy."

"He was," Leia acknowledged of the now dead nobleman from Alderaan. "And frankly, he probably would have been a good match if things had gone differently. I really did like him, father. But we fought all the time. Over little things. With Shaddix, we don't fight. We can feel what we each need and want. He asks so little of me, and gives so much. Did you know he can cook? Not just hitting the food prep buttons, but actually preparing ingredients and mixing them over fire to create meals. He cooks for us at night when he's here. Better than anything we get in the cantina. He makes me happy."

She looked up from her reader and gave her father a long, imploring look. "Please stop trying to take that away from me, father. Please."

Bail sagged in his seat. "I can't help it, Lelila. I love you so much, it just drives me insane sometimes to see you with that man. I know he treats you well. It's the fact he treats that Jade woman well too that bothers me so much."

"I know, father." She reached across the table to take his hand. "Would you like me to show you something I've learned from him?"

"What?"

She smiled, looked in his eyes, and _shared_. Bail gasped, flushing a little as the wash of foreign emotions overcame him. She stopped after a second. "That's just a glimpse, father," she said softly. "A glimpse of what it's like just to hold his hand. Anything more than that, and I'm afraid I'd give you a heart attack.

He took a deep, ragged breath. "It's hard to argue with emotions like that," he acknowledged. "So, they're due back today?"

"Yes."

"And they wouldn't tell you what they're doing? They wouldn't tell Vernan or even Shaddix's own people."

"He went to Imperial Center with Mara to hunt down a possible lead as to who he was, before the Emperor took his memory."

"Ah."

Her comlink beeped. "Highness," came a tech's voice. "You asked to be informed when Lord Shaddix's ship was making its final approach. It should land in ten minutes."

"Thank you!" She clicked it off and stood, flushed now just with the thought of seeing him again. "Father…"

"Go ahead," he said in a resigned tone. "I need to speak to Mon anyway."

Leia smiled at her father, and then leaned down to kiss his bearded cheek. "You know, you should stop worrying so much about my love life and look to your own. I've seen the way she looks at you."

"It's an old crush, Leia. Nothing to think about."

"Father, it's been years since mother died. Don't you think she'd want you to be happy? After all, Mon is a remarkable woman."

"She is at that. Now go meet your…companions."

Leia sighed at his obstinacy and left the cantina at a fast walk. Now that she knew they were approaching, she reached out and felt them. They appeared in her mind as distant but vibrant stars.

By the time she reached the tarmac, the blastboat they used had already landed and a ground crew was carting it into the base. Shaddix and Mara were both walking toward her, as if they could sense her as well.

Leia felt eyes on her, and knew the whole base was watching her. The relationship she shared with these two was the stuff of legends. It was a miracle the Emperor didn't try to make something of it just to embarrass the Alliance.

And yet, when he and Mara smiled at her, all of her worries just seemed to melt away, and before she knew it his arm was around her waist and his lips were melting passionately into hers. Nothing else in the galaxy mattered except that moment.

"Miss me?" he asked.

"Stars yes," she said. She then hugged Mara. "You too. You're hair looks atrocious."

Mara laughed. "It does, doesn't it? Shaddix?"

He placed a hand on her locks and stroked it. Where his hand passed, her natural red locks shone through. He continued until the last of the dye was gone.

Leia knew from Obi-Wan that what he did just then was not a Force power. In fact, the Jedi on the base were certain that what Shaddix did was not really Force power at all, though he was obviously capable of using the Force. The fact he had no midi-chlorians just seemed to reinforce the Jedi's belief that he was not himself a Force-sensitive, but something else entirely.

"So?" she asked.

"Nothing," Shaddix said with a frown. "He knew. He was starting to speak to us, when the Emperor's agents got to him. Shot him with a disrupter."

"I'm not certain he knew what he was talking about anyway," Mara said in an off-hand manner. "The fool was saying Shaddix couldn't remember because he didn't have enough wives."

"Wives?" Leia asked archly. She looked at Shaddix. "Is that what we are?"

He shrugged. "Call it what you will—all I know is that I can't imagine living without you."

She sighed. "It's hard to even pretend to be angry at you, you know that, right?"

He grinned. "What can I say? Great power, overwhelming beauty, the most gorgeous women in the galaxy at my side—it's a hard life."

"I'm sure," Mara said, though she was smiling as she said it.

A corporal came jogging out of the hangar bay toward them and came to a stop, saluting. "Admiral Shaddix, sir, the Executive Council is beginning its session and requests your presence."

"I thought you were on the council," Mara said to Leia.

"Could be why they're asking for him," Leia pointed out.

Mara blew a raspberry.

"Thank you, corporal," Shaddix said. "Oh, before you go, did you call me admiral?"

The corporal, who appeared to be in his late teens, blushed. "That's how General Dodonna asked me to address you, sir."

"Thank you."

They followed along after the corporal. "You know, it does make sense," Leia said. "You command a full squadron of ships, even if you're not with them all the time."

"It's silly, though. Nogdra commands the squadron, and I just occasionally make suggestions to him."

"Which he takes religiously, because you are never, ever wrong," Mara pointed out.

He looked as if he were about to start arguing with her, but chose not to.

By the time they reached the executive meeting room, the session was already going. Leia noted that a fourth seat at the high table was available and smiled despite herself. When Shaddix joined the Alliance, he brought more military power with him than any of the original three, and so they had little choice but to grant him an equal say in Alliance policy, even if he rarely exercised the right.

He did now, nodding greetings and making small talk like a practiced politician, though he could not have been more than twenty years old.

Then again, Leia was just now twenty, and was already a former senator.

"Thank you for joining us on such short notice," Bail Organa said with cool courtesy.

Shaddix smiled at a man who was, for all intents and purposes, his father in law. "I was glad to make it in time. Thank you for inviting me." He sat down, while Leia took her seat at a second table reserved for ranking members of the Alliance. Though she did not officially have a military rank, she was considered a civilian leader just under the council members themselves and part of the larger council itself.

Mara sat beside her, since her intimate knowledge of the Emperor was tapped more than once during the last six months. The first order of business was Taq Base on Talay, and the reports of rakghouls there.

General Vernon finished the report by saying, "I've given Katarn another company, bringing his total strike force to a hundred men. It's the largest of the SpecForce teams, but the man is perfectly suited for this type of command. Admiral Shaddix was not exaggerating his potential one whit."

Shaddix nodded and didn't comment on the admiral rank. Leia knew it was because of her—if she approved of something, he generally accepted it, unless he had a very good reason not to.

"I do have some news," Shaddix said. "While my mission to Imperial Center was something of a wash, we rendezvoused with the _Fury_ for a conference. We were able to destroy the taskforce en route to Mon Calamari. Admiral Ackbar reports that the ship yards are now in full production, and he anticipates the first three converted cruisers should be available within six months."

"Very good work!" Mon enthused.

"I wish I could take credit, Madame, but in truth Captain Nogdra discovered the task force and dealt with it accordingly. While I accept the rank you've given me, for the sake of administrative ease, I think his rank should also reflect his true responsibilities. I believe the rank of Commodore should apply at the least."

"He has been an incredible asset," Garm bel Iblis said. "I second the recommendation."

"All agreed?" Bail said.

The council members voted, and like that Nogdra was promoted.

"Admiral," Bail said, "I understand that you actually went to Imperial City in order to find clues to your past. You indicated it was a wash?"

Shaddix nodded, no longer smiling. "Before the Emperor forced her to bond with me, Mara remembered the man who evidently found me. We don't know any details and were hoping he did. He was the chair of the Department of Antiquities at Imperial University. A man named Hastlebrandt."

As Shaddix spoke to the council, Leia was looking at the rest of the occupants in the room, gauging faces, dedication, and capability. At the name of Hastlebrandt, she saw General Vernan almost jerk out of his seat. He did not say anything, but he very casually turned and looked Leia in the eyes.

He knew something.

She nodded, and knew she and the general would be speaking very soon.

She led the way into Vernan's section of the base with Shaddix and Mara a step behind. The staff, which at the moment was composed of five analysts and several dedicated droids, looked up in surprise at the infamous trio.

Leia ignored them as she continued through the stacks of holopads and flimsiplasts, until she reached the general's office. Leia was surprised to find her father in the room with the Vernan, along with the Camaasi Jedi, Ylenic It'kla.

"We were wondering when you would show up," Vernan said. He motioned to a wide sofa just inside the door. "Please, close the door and have a seat. We have much to discuss. Threepio, drinks please."

Leia was surprised to see the family droid working for Vernan, but decided this was the perfect place for a protocol droid with his language programming. The golden droid fetched a tray and served cups of water or blue fizz.

Shaddix took the blue fizz. While a brilliant tactician and an inspiring leader, he had the dietary preferences of a teenager.

"I recognized the name Hastlebrandt from a debrief I did a few years ago," Vernan began. "In fact, it was one our very first Imperial defectors to the Alliance as it now exists."

"Captain Juno Eclipse," Bail said. "Leia, you met her on Kashyyyk."

"I remember her!" Leia said. "I remember she was heartbroken when Marek died. I haven't seen her since before we even began Project Skyhook. Where is she?"

"She left the Alliance at my suggestion shortly after the Battle of Dantooine," Ylenic It'kla said. "It was my belief that she had great potential in the Force, and at that time we did not know the status of General Kenobi, so we sent her to the only other Jedi Master I felt could help her reach her true potential."

"We sent her to Master Yoda," Bail explained.

Leia noticed how both Shaddix and Mara sat up. "Yoda is alive?" Shaddix said. "The Emperor cursed his name almost daily. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Yoda wished to remain hidden," Organa said. "Frankly, the only reason we think Juno found him was because she hasn't returned yet. She was a dedicated soldier—she would have come back if she couldn't be trained as a Jedi."

"The point of this as it concerns you, though, is that three years before Dantooine fell, she was ordered by Darth Vader to personally fetch five young women from Dathomir. Dathomiri witches, I believe they are called. She flew them to Imperial Center into an archeological dig that was being done in the center of a refuse pit in the northern quadrant of the planet. Inside, she witnessed the Emperor, Darth Vader, and a man named Hastlebrandt, coerce the young women into performing a strange, ancient rite to summon a spirit. The rite involved blood and spoken vows to die for the spirit."

"Evidently," Bail continued, "the rite was successful. She told us that a young man emerged from a solid round stone, nude and covered in a slime not too dissimilar to the birth of a child. She said the Dathomiri witches were immediately drawn to him. That they seemed almost to be falling in love with him before he even woke. He did wake briefly, before the Emperor had all five women killed."

Leia could almost feel Shaddix wince in pain, as if some small part of him remembered.

"What happened next?" he asked.

"This young man collapsed, and Captain Eclipse flew everyone out and then, under Vader's direct orders, shot a torpedo into the dig site. All trace of the site is most likely destroyed. It is the only report we have ever seen mentioning the name Hastlebrant. However, since the meeting this morning I did a very brief search on him and found that six months after the events of Eclipse's report, Yanosh Hastlebrant was appointed chair of the department, displacing a well respected scholar who was forced to retire abruptly, and being elevated over twenty more qualified, tenured professors. There was, in fact, a rash of resignations in protest over his promotion, but nothing ever came of it."

"He was being rewarded," Mara said. "I wonder if he was…" She closed her eyes. "He is the one. He told the Emperor to send me to Shaddix. That's why he was so sad when I went there. It's all I remember—that he looked sad."

"The dream," Leia whispered.

"Dream?" Bail said.

"We had a dream, when Shaddix was unconscious right after the Death Star," Mara said.

"Both of you?" Vernan asked.

"We have common dreams all the time now," Leia said, dismissing something that made all three beings—even the Jedi—look askance at. "Anyway, we had a dream that there were three shadow women with us and Shaddix. And there was this light."

"It was beautiful," Mara interjected.

"It was going down into Shaddix," Leia continued with a nod. "But then it started to fade and go away, and the shadows said there were not enough."

"That's what Hastlebrandt said!" Mara said. "He said that Shaddix couldn't remember because he didn't have enough wives. What'd he call you? Eternal magician or something?"

"Forever mage," Shaddix said softly, lost in thought. "Lord of Light. Like I was special." He looked up to Vernon, Bail and It'kla. "What does it mean?"

"It means you are more than just a Sith or Jedi," It'kla said. "What precisely we do not know. But I think it might benefit you all to speak to Captain Eclipse. And, I daresay, Yoda himself. The Grand Master was over nine hundred years old when the order fell. His knowledge of Jedi Lore and history was second to none, as was his power in the Force. If there is anyone who could assist you with finding your secrets, it is he. He's on Dagobah."

Vernan's desk comlink beeped. "General!" a frantic voice called. "Perimeter defense caught an Imperial prove droid. It managed to get a signal out before we destroyed it!"

Vernan looked at Bail. "I'll contact General Dodonna to begin the evacuation procedures. We're not going to let Yavin turn into another Dantooine!"

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: The Battle of Yavin**

When the Alliance to Restore the Republic arrived on Yavin, they did so as a beaten and dejected group. The pounding that Shaddix inflicted on them on Dantooine did more than just bruise their spirits—it bereft them of a huge amount of ordinance and supplies. Dantooine was a truly crushing defeat.

After Alderaan, though, things changed. For one, many systems that tolerated the Empire but held no love for it saw the destruction of a sovereign Core World as the ultimate insult and threat. For the first time, at least to many of these worlds, the Empire's true colors were finally exposed. The New Order was nothing more than a dictatorship.

Individual worlds throughout the galaxy openly revolted, some with more success than others. The water world of Mon Calamari was the most successful of these, being a planet with a well-established shipyard that historically produced luxury liners. Under the leadership of Ackbar—a former slave of Moff Tarkin's whom the Alliance freed—the Quarren and Mon Calamari banded together and converted their luxury liners into ships of war, and then built dedicated war cruisers able to go toe-to-toe with even Star Destroyers, if only for a while.

The Empire's effort to crush the Mon Calamari revolt ended with Captain—now Commodore—Nogdra's ambush and Ackbar's stunning defense.

Recruitment and Imperial defections to the Alliance sky-rocketed, and with people came credits and supplies. Within two months, the Alliance at Yavin was a completely different group than the one that arrived.

Moreover, the Alliance now had on its Executive Council a former apprentice of the Emperor who was intimately familiar with Imperial operating procedure and command protocols.

Still, compared to the combined might of the Empire, the Alliance could rarely afford to make large-scale commitments. Yavin was a perfect example. The Empire arrived in huge numbers—a heavy attack line of four hundred ships, led by ten newly minted _Imperial-II_ class star destroyers.

At first, it seemed as if there was not going to be any opposition. The space around Yavin IV was clear, save for the distant sister moon of Yavin III, which was an uninhabitable, barren rock. The Imperials did detect a powerful energy shield over the base, and so the Admiral in command did the proper thing and ordered a ground assault.

Huge drop ships fell out of the bellies of the even larger capital ships of the attack line, a hundred in all. They entered the atmosphere of the verdant moon, and only then did they encounter their first signs of resistance.

Old Confederacy of Independent System vulture droids swarmed the drop ships by the hundreds. Many of the pilots, born after or during the Clone Wars, had never seen the old droid attack ships and so had no idea what they were. The older line officers in orbit, however, knew exactly what they were.

TIE fighters were launched to gain air superiority, over four hundred strong. Meanwhile, the vulture droids continued to wreak havoc on the vulnerable drop ships.

The TIE fighters swooped down on the droids. The difference in technology soon became apparent as the TIEs proved vastly superior to the Vulture droids, destroying ten of the droids for every TIE destroyed.

The droids programming switched, and instead of acting as fighters, the droids became missiles. They accelerated to top speed and slammed into the drop ships, one after the other, until all the droids were destroyed.

In their rush, they eliminated almost half the drop ships.

Still, fifty drop ships landed and disgorged their cargo. Forty AT-ATs and twenty two-legged AT-STs began blasting their way through the thick jungle to the outer defensive perimeter, only to trip and fall over.

Ordinary command protocols called for infantry to accompany AT-ATs to look for any obstructions that could impede the walkers. The Imperial admiral, in his infinite wisdom, believed this to be an unnecessary step since the AT-ATs were designed to trample over anything.

Unfortunately, Shaddix knew the admiral. He knew the man's haphazard approach to attacks, because he had never been in a conflict in which he did not have vast numerical superiority. The jungle was laced with small forcefield emplacements anchored into the granite just under the forest surface. The AT-ATs did not hit every one, but when one of the walkers hit one mid-step, the stabilizing gyros could not compensate and the huge beast tumbled down to the jungle floor. At least ten were destroyed in such a method.

The Admiral, infuriated, sent TIE bombers to begin strafing the rebel position. As soon as the large, unwieldy bombers were in the atmosphere, the first true Alliance resistance appeared.

Air speeders flew out of the Rebel ziggurats, fifty of them in five squadrons of ten craft, each specifically designed for atmospheric operations, as opposed to TIE fighters, which were space superiority craft forced to operate in the atmosphere by the economics of the Empire.

The bombers never reached the base.

"Like shooting mynocks!" Han solo roared to his fellow pilots.

By this time, the Admiral, a man named Graeta Holtar, began to realize this was not going to be as easy a victory as he desired.

He gave the order and the infantry finally left the AT-ATs in scout bikes and personal one-man walkers. They climbed out of the fallen AT-ATs and assembled, ten thousand strong, to begin the assault on the base.

They were met by a defensive line of only two hundred Alliance soldiers led by Shaddix, Mara, and Jedi Knight Ylenic It'kla, all on their own modified swoop bikes.

"Sure you can handle that bike, Shaddix?" Mara asked.

The former Sith laughed. "I may be pants at piloting fighters, but give me a swoop, and you'll see something worth cheering about."

"Yeah, yeah, less talking, more flying."

With a shout to his two companies of bikers, a liberal mix of defected storm troopers and swoop enthusiasts who just happened to join the Alliance, Shaddix led the charge to meet the incoming infantry.

Unfortunately, in almost any battle, there came a point when strategy and tactics had to give way before the chaotic nature of combat itself. Shaddix and Dodonna did all they could to prepare for the enemy, and wreaked devastating destruction on the attacking force, but in the end they were still vastly outnumbered.

The Battle of Yavin was never about defeating the Empire. It was about making the Empire bleed while escaping alive.

"Shaddix!" Leia's voice came over their hands-free comlink. "The first transport is ready. Dodonna is waiting to launch all transports at the same time for the flock effect."

"He's a smart man," Shaddix said as he banked hard around a thick tree, and came around to cut into a formation of storm troopers. A scout walker started tracking him with its laser cannons, only to have Mara come up behind it and cut one of its legs out with her lightsaber. "What type of formation are we looking at over the planet?"

"The fleet is concentrated directly over us."

"Holtar is a fool then, and the Emperor is going to have his head on a pike. We're taking losses out here. Let us know the minute the last transport is ready to receive us."

He heard her disconnect just as a heavy laser cannon from an AT-AT plowed the jungle floor in front of him. He had no choice but to launch himself from his bike as it slammed into a shattered trunk.

Shaddix gathered himself in mid flight, pulled his newly constructed blue lightsabers, and landed in a roll right in the middle of an entire battalion of storm troopers. "Hi, there!" he said brightly, before he started cutting.

Men screamed as troopers were mysteriously blown into the air. Only a fraction actually died as a result of Shaddix's lightsabers. Far more died from massive bursts of blue force lightning, or from the blunt force trauma of being thrown against a tree at sixty klicks an hour.

The frantic calls of the storm troopers attracted even more troopers, drawing attention away from the already tired and overstretched defensive line. This gave Mara and It'kla time to reform the line further back. It also gave the Jedi knight an opportunity to see Shaddix fight.

"He does not fight like any Jedi or Sith I have ever seen," Ylenic said in open wonder.

"I think we've established he's not either," Mara said. She was proud of him, even as some small part of her was afraid of him.

"I think even Admiral Shaddix will have trouble with that," the Caamasi Jedi said, nodding to an approaching pair of AT-ATs.

"I'll take that bet," Mara said.

"Sadly, Jedi do not gamble."

"Too bad."

In the middle of the fight, surrounded by over a hundred living troopers and twice as many dead, Shaddix suddenly, inexplicably disappeared just as a massive volley of laser cannon fire from the two AT-ATs decimated their own men. It was, Mara knew, typical Imperial practice to sacrifice soldiers to take out an important target.

One of the AT-ATs suddenly stopped walking. A moment later, the head of the walker turned toward its companion and opened up with everything it had. The second AT-AT took the powerful volley directly into its cockpit a moment before the head exploded.

A moment later, the head of the first walker also exploded. Shaddix appeared with a pop next to Mara, and stumbled. "Well, that was fun," he said with a deep breath. "How are we doing?"

"We've got breaches in the south," Mara said. "We were able to redirect some of the men from here because of your distraction, but they're still breaking through."

"We knew they would eventually," Shaddix said. He tapped his own link. "This is Shaddix to Command. We're pulling back to perimeter two." He switched channels. "All forces, this is Shaddix. Pull back to P2. Pull back to P2."

"Shaddix," Leia's voice came back, "transport two is loaded and transport three is nearly there. Last two transports are holding for ground forces."

Shaddix climbed onto Mara's bike, sitting snugly against her while she and It'kla pulled back to the second defensive line around the tarmac of the ziggurats themselves. "Solo, Celchu, Skywalker, do you read?"

The three pilots responded. "Come on home. Time to switch birds."

"Acknowledge," the three said. Overhead, the speeders broke off their dogfights and retreated to the base. A quick count showed there were a lot less returning than what went out.

The second perimeter was a dry moat that ran around the two ziggurats that made up the base. The moats were filled with Alliance soldiers with heavy laser cannon emplacements and missile pods. The bikers emerged from the forest line first, followed by a few running squads of troopers, before the Imperials broke through the tree line completely.

Shaddix and Mara both let their speeder go to one of the running men and ran themselves to the moat.

"Where's Derlin?" Shaddix asked.

"Here!" Major Derlin shouted back. The major waved, and Shaddix made his way to the major's line command point.

"Report!" Shaddix said.

"We've got contact along five points of the inner perimeter," Derlin said. "There's no possibility we can hold them. We're just trying to slow them down."

"That's all we can do, Major." Shaddix had to continue shouting as the air over their heads came alive with blaster bolts and explosions. Both men looked up to see a heavy turbolaser emplacement halfway up the ziggurate fire on an AT-AT. Armor that could stand up to heavy laser cannons did less well against a weapon designed for capital ship engagements.

Two AT-ATs exploded with sufficient energy to flatten surrounding scout walkers, and vaporize the infantry under them. The rebels ducked under the walls of the moat as the concussion wave ripped by overhead. More than a few helmets were blown off, though thankfully the heads under them remained attached to the bodies. The shaking ground, though, was enough to make even Shaddix nervous.

Unfortunately, there were many other AT-ATs, and every one zoned in on the turbolaser. A rain of laser cannon fire pelted the ziggurate, blowing away the stepped pyramid until the turbolaser exploded, taking a good portion of the ziggurat with it.

"Shaddix!" Leia shouted over the com. "We're ready! Pull back!"

Shaddix immediately echoed the order. "All forces pull back! Pull back. Full retreat! Make to your transports."

Soldiers gave up all pretense of fighting and turned to run for their lives. Fortunately, they turned and ran not over the tarmac of the base, but the tunnels that ran underneath it. Shaddix stood at the nearest tunnel entrance, directing foot traffic. Mara stood nearby, and twice had to deflect blaster fire with her lightsaber as storm troopers reached the moat.

"That's it!" she said.

"Right, come on!" The two turned and ducked into the tunnel. As they did so, Shaddix hit a large red button wired into the stone wall. He counted aloud, "Ten, nine, eight, seven…"

The first storm troopers reached the tunnel entrance right as Shaddix reached "zero". The tunnel entrance disappeared before a billow of fire. The concussion of the blast knocked Shaddix into Mara, and then into the straggling soldiers in front of them, until they all tumbled to the ground.

"Get up!" Shaddix roared at the men. "Run like you have an Imperial army coming to vape your asses!"

The soldiers, winded from the fight and the sprint, nodded and ran ahead with Shaddix and Mara on their heels the entire time.

They reached the massive underground hangar, which was already littered with debris blown down from the ceiling. In formation floated four GR-75 medium transport ships, the grunts of the Alliance Navy.

Shaddix and Mara both spotted Leia by the fourth transport, directing traffic while loader droids moved the last of the speeders into their cargo pods. Nearby, pilots were running to their X-Wings.

"Do we ride the transport or take the _Skipray?"_ Mara asked.

"You're the pilot," Shaddix said. "You tell me."

"Why ride when we can fly?" she said. She grinned at him, her eyes alight with the heady rush of terror and confidence. She looked absolutely beautiful.

Then the wall behind them exploded.

In all the different scenarios Shaddix envisioned, he never foresaw the Empire blasting through the ground itself to attack the hangar. The explosion caught him completely by surprise and threw him somersaulting through the air. He landed with a bounce and was back on his feet, his ears ringing but otherwise okay.

He looked around the hangar, disoriented, and saw Leia screaming soundlessly as she pointed. He didn't understand why she wasn't making any noise when she was obviously screaming. He followed where she was point at and felt his heart skip a beat.

In the center of the hangar, in an unmoving heap, lay Mara. And bearing down on her was a juggernaut tank very nearly as large as the transports the Alliance was loading up. Each wheel in and of itself was larger than an X-Wing fighter, and such a wheel was bearing down at her as the Empire breached the hangar. The dozens of laser cannons that covered the behemoth started tearing into the transports, while still it rolled toward Mara.

"No," he said, though he could not hear his own voice, save through a distant muffle. He realized the explosion must have damaged his ears, but it didn't matter.

Nothing mattered if he lost Mara.

Desperation fueled his power. He lurched forward and pushed with both hands.

The juggernaut ground to a gear-grinding halt.

Suddenly Ylenic It'kla zoomed past him, moving with a speed not even a human Jedi could have matched. Long, furred legs carried him toward the unmoving heap that was Mara. He scooped her up and then immediately turned and started running back to the transports.

Shaddix saw the many laser cannon turrets scanning to see what was happening; he felt danger in the Force and knew they realized why they had stopped. Regardless of his power, he could not continue to hold the tank with them shooting at him. He was just running out of time. With an angry scream at the thought of the injury his wife suffered, he pulled power from the air and from within him. The air around his body shimmered as he reached out with everything he had and lifted the massive tank completely off the floor.

For a moment, all activity in the hangar paused as both Rebels and Imperials watched the fifty-meter long, sixty ton monster levitate into the air, and then fly side-ways toward the breach just as a second juggernaut tank was climbing down the blasted slope in the hangar. The first broke its back on the second, effectively destroying both.

Shaddix sagged to his knees from the effort. Soothing hands grabbed his arm and he looked up to see Leia. "Hi," he said.

She spoke, but all he heard were muffled sounds. Still, her intent was clear. The first transport was already lifting off, accompanied by ten X-wing fighters. He stumbled but Leia caught him. Behind them, storm troopers were forcing their way past the wreckage.

Leia surprisingly did not lead him to the transport. Instead, they ran toward one of smuggling freighters the Alliance contracted with. He saw It'kla ahead of them with Mara, also carrying her to the freighter.

He didn't care which ship they were on, so long as he had a chance to be with Mara and Leia.

The second transport was away and the third was moving to launch. Small weapons fire from the storm troopers did little to damage the transports. However, the whole base was vibrating from the approach of the AT-ATs. It was time to go.

They stumbled into the freighter. Leia continued to lead him to a small cabin. Mara was already there, unconscious, pale and bleeding. It'kla was tending her. Without a word, Shaddix stumbled to the bed past the startled Jedi, climbed over the red-head, and just collapsed next to her.

"Princess, she's hurt," It'kla said. "I cannot treat her like this."

"Master It'kla," Leia said tiredly, "you don't have to. Please, go to the cockpit and assist Captain Dantels. We'll be okay."

The Caamasi looked concerned, but acceded to her wish. He caught a brief glimpse of Leia climbing onto the bed and snuggling into Mara just as Shaddix did before he left and walked to the cockpit.

Captain Nera Dantels was a smuggler by profession, but through her relationship with Biggs Darklighter had joined the Alliance full time. She was an able pilot, and in fact was the one who Obi-Wan Kenobi hired on Tattoine. They flew into Alderaan's remnants an hour after the Death Star exploded. Fortunately, Dantels had communication codes and was able to obtain the coordinates to get Kenobi and his companion, Luke Skywalker, safely to Yavin.

Now she was blasting off with another Jedi, and still more odd passengers in the back.

"Have a seat," she said brusquely. Outside the viewport, It'kla could see that the _Starduster_ was already moving toward the hangar door.

The atmosphere was thick was laser cannon fire as the X-wing fighters fought desperately to hold back the TIEs sufficiently to allow the transports to make orbit. Unfortunately, lining the sky was the Imperial blockade.

"I hope Admiral Shaddix's contingency plan works," It'kla said.

They broke through the atmosphere, and once in the clear of space, they could see that Shaddix's plan was indeed working. The Imperial fleet was breaking up under the fire of planetary ion cannons fired not from Yavin IV, but from the nearby moon of Yavin III. Further compounding the Imperial's problems, three Mon Cal heavy cruisers dropped out of hyperspace almost directly on top of the blockade ships that were attempting to prevent the transports from leaving.

A flash of light caught the Camaasi's eyes. He leaned forward to see the surface—a sizable mushroom cloud was spreading across the spot they just left. The base self destruct had ignited, taking a large portion of the Imperial ground forces with it.

He trembled at the thought of so much death, and for a moment was thankful he would not pass on his experiences to his children. Caamasi were not pacifists just due to philosophy, but to the fact that genetic memories haunted them for generations.

He turned back to see the Mon Cal cruisers tearing into the unprepared flanks of the heavy cruisers that were all that kept the transports from safety. Even with the ion cannon fire; even with the Mon Cal cruisers blasting away—the Empire had too much fire power to completely escape. The fourth transport took increasingly heavy fire, until the magnetic locks holding its cargo pods failed. It looked as if a giant beast had been gutted as pods began to fall out.

A _Nebulon_-B frigate swooped in underneath the heavy cruisers and fired a concerted volley. The transport blossomed into orange flame. Secondary explosions went off in white staccato flashes as the munitions in the pods also exploded.

"There went our speeders," Dantels muttered.

"And many of our soldiers," It'kla whispered.

Dantels looked startled, but then nodded. "Damn, you're right. Most of the last line loaded into the fourth transport. Gods of my ancestors, how many do you think we lost?"

"Too many."

The _Starduster_ was actually much faster than any of the transports. Its smaller size also leant it increased maneuverability. With a capable pilot such as Dantels, the freighter had little trouble making it past the occupied blockade.

The Mon Cal heavy cruisers broke off their attack, skirting the atmosphere of the planet in their attempt to make a retreat. It'kla caught sight of a massive star destroyer bearing down on the last of the three, pelting it with heavy turbolaser fire and proton torpedos.

He prayed to the Force that the ship made it. Though the Alliance bled the Empire dearly, the cost was heavy.

"I'm jumping to hyperspace," Dantels said.

It'kla nodded and left the bridge. In the main lounge of the ship, he discovered a squad of twenty exhausted and injured troopers—the very last men who couldn't make it to the doomed fourth transport. They already had the freighter's limited medical supplies out, so It'kla did what he could to treat them and ease their wounds.

He lost track of time, not pausing until the last man was made as comfortable as possible. Only then did he look up and realize it had been six hours.

He called on the Force to renew his tired muscles, and then went to check on Shaddix. The door opened at his touch, but the Camaasi paused to enter.

The three inside were quite nude, and though they were soundly asleep, the air itself smelled of human sex.

Of course, as a Camaasi It'kla found naked human skin to be faintly disturbing. Camaasi had beautifully patterned fur, and the pale, naked flesh of a human being was not even remotely appealing. And yet, as he stepped in to check on them, there was a serenity, and even an innocence, in their positions that washed away the inappropriateness of the strange relationship.

Bail, It'kla knew, would be having a heart attack.

Still, the Jedi entered the room for a reason. He gently stood over the sleeping Mara and sensed her presence with the Force. It felt strong and healthy, and despite the fact she must have suffered significant wounds, she showed no sign of it on her mostly exposed body.

Shaddix still had crusted blood along his ears where his eardrums ruptured from the explosion, but like Mara his presence was strong in the Force.

Bright green eyes opened and considered It'kla.

"I was checking on Mara," the Jedi said softly, so as not to wake the others. "She is well. How are you?"

"I'm fine," Shaddix whispered. "We heal each other when we are together."

"I can see that. I'm sorry to have intruded."

"Don't be. You saved Mara's life. I will always be indebted to you for that. Thank you."

"It was both my duty and my honor to help you," the Jedi said. He turned to leave, but paused when Shaddix spoke.

"Master It'kla, could you ask the freighter captain if she would be willing to take us to Dagobah? I very much wish to speak to Juno. During the fight, I felt as if I should have been able to do more."

"My young friend, of all Jedi alive, only Yoda could have done what you did today."

"That's just it—I am sure I should have been able to do more. I need to know who I am. Juno Eclipse is my last hope."

It'kla nodded. "I shall ask. If she cannot, then I'm sure a craft will be made available when we rendezvous with the fleet. In the meantime, you and your mates should rest."

"Thank you, my friend."

It'kla bowed again, and the left the room.


	37. Bonus DLOL Chaps 16 thru 20

**Chapter Sixteen: Yoda Man**

Jedi Padawan Juno Eclipse sagged to the ground, coated in sweat from her run. Without being told, she immediately slipped into a rejuvenating meditation. The Force flowed through her body, easing the aching muscles and aiding her lungs absorb the oxygen her body craved.

In a minute, hear breathing and heart rate were back to normal.

"Good," a high-pitched voice said from nearby. "Calm you are. Much have you learned."

"I had a good teacher," Juno said with a wry smile, even while she kept her eyes closed.

"Flatter me you do," Yoda said as he hobbled to sit on a log in front of her. "An able student are you. Thirst for knowledge you do, but never do you let your thirst control you."

"Master…"

"A vision you had last night," Yoda said.

"Yes, Master. I dreamed he was coming here. I dreamed…" Her cheeks flushed. "I dreamed we were together. Intimately."

"The future you see, if you but wish it," Yoda said.

Juno absorbed the answer. She opened her eyes after a long minute and studied the diminutive Jedi master. "You've been preparing me for him, haven't you?"

"Possibilities, I saw," Yoda admitted. "Diminished is the Forever Mage. A shadow of what he should be. Only through more bonds will power and memory come."

"In my vision, there were other women there. One with red hair, and…and Princess Leia. They were with us as well."

"Many things we see, through the Force," Yoda said. "Saw a Sith break against the mind of Leia Organa Skywalker, I did."

"Will it hurt, Master? Will it be my free will I give to him? Will I be nothing more than a breeder for his children and a sheath for his saber?"

"It is sung in the Journal," Yoda said, "and so it has came to pass many times, that the wives of the Lord of Light have been leaders in their own right. His lieutenants they are; his advisors. Warriors themselves have they often been. Never has a wife of the Forever Mage been subjugated to his will, for to do so would violate all that he is. More often he bends to theirs, for it is their will and strength, in addition to their love, that anchors him."

"If feels like an archaic holodrama. I'm the lonely daughter being sold off in marriage to the rich, mysterious nobleman. I've only seen him once, and then only for a second."

"Your heart and the Force, let guide you," Yoda said.

"What is he like?"

"Not what you think," Yoda said. "Come, time for tea we have, before arrive they do."

An hour later found master and student enjoying tea on board the _Rogue Shadow_ when the droid PROXY stepped into the homey break room. "Pardon me, Captain Eclipse. Ships sensors have detected an Imperial _Lambda-_class shuttle entering the atmosphere."

"Thank you, PROXY. Please activate the ship's beacon to guide them in. We've been expecting them."

"Very well," the droid said before it turned and left.

In the silence that followed, Juno quietly took hers and Master Yoda's cups and rinsed them out before placing them back into their secured shelf. When done, she knelt down before the Jedi.

"Thank you," she said. "I've learned so much. There's so much more to learn, but without you, I would not even know what knowledge I lack. Thank you so much."

"Welcome, you are," Yoda said. "If still existed the Temple did, my padawan would I take you to be. But my student you will not be much longer. There is even more to learn than you know."

They could hear the rumble of an approaching ship even through the halls of their own. "Meet our guests we should," Yoda said.

"My I carry you, Master?"

Yoda nodded. Juno offered her back, as if they were going on another run, and walked the Jedi master through the ship to the ramp. She gently set him down and waited as a white Imperial shuttle soared over head. And continued to soar over head until out of sight, from where they heard a very loud crash that sent every flying creature in the jungle into the air.

"Master, did the Forever Mage just crash his shuttle?" Juno asked, incredulous.

"Poor pilots do Mages make, so the Journals say," Yoda said with a chuckle. "Carry me you should."

She Force-summoned the harness she used for that very purpose. Yoda settled himself onto her back, and together they took off toward the direction of the crash.

They knew they were approaching just from a stern voice saying, "Shaddix, why didn't you just wake me up? I told you you'd crash!"

"Sorry."

"And Luke, you're one of the best pilots in the Alliance," came yet another voice. "Father and Master Kenobi insisted we bring you, why didn't you take over?"

"Leia, he's an admiral. He outranks me."

"He's only been an admiral for two weeks! And even his own pilots refuse to let him fly."

Juno emerged from the jungle onto the banks of one of the many bogs that dominated the planet, and found four very wet, grouchy people a few meters away, staring at a sinking shuttle. "You know," Shaddix said at last, "I didn't really like that thing anyway. It pulled left. I wish Dantels had just brought us."

"You're just trying to make yourself feel better about crashing yet another ship," a lithesome young woman whose red hair was plastered about her shoulders, snapped. "And I understood why the Council wanted to meet with us first before they let us run off again."

"No, it really did pull to port," Luke said. "I think the portside thruster flow modulator was faulty."

"So instead of replacing the missing part," the Princess Leia said waspishly, "you let him crash it?"

"Sorry," Luke said, looking as chagrinned as Shaddix.

Into this miserable sight stepped Juno and Master Yoda. "Problems with your ship?" she asked.

The four newcomers spun around, various weapons coming to play. Juno noticed that every one of them carried a lightsaber—Shaddix actually carried two. Leia's face lit up immediately. "Captain Eclipse!" She took a step forward before noticing the small green creature on Juno's back. "And…Master Yoda?"

"Yoda I am."

Shaddix, though, was staring at Yoda like a man possessed. He walked unsteadily to the diminutive Jedi master and knelt down before the being. "Why do I feel like I know you?" he asked.

"Once it was, my kind served you," Yoda said. "Waiting for you I have been, Forever Mage. Waiting for the whole of my life."

"By the Force, Kyle, you stink!" Jan said.

Kyle Katarn did not look amused as he dragged the small, loudly complaining Moff Rebus behind him. "I'm pretty sure this sludge is toxic, too," he muttered. "Would you prepare the decon bath for me?"

"Sure."

Following the horror at Talay, Kyle reported to Intelligence their findings, and the only clue they found at the base—a modified Imperial blaster rifle with the etched initials MR.

As the Alliance slipped out of Yavin, Kyle received information from the Intelligence cell on Selonia that MR was the mark of eccentric Imperial weapons designer Moff Rebus. The terms "eccentric" barely touched on the surface of a man who built weapons of both personal and mass destruction in the sewers of a dead planet.

"Let me go you mangy bantha-beard!" the small man ranted, while Kyle continued to drag him to Jan's personal ship, the _Moldy Crow_.

"I want to be a part of the interrogation," Kyle said darkly.

"You can have him," Jan said. The two stank from the toxic sewers Kyle had to go through to get his man. But, as with everything Kyle set out to do, he succeeded.

Jan ran ahead to get the shower ready. This was going to be a fun report to write.

On logs around a campfire set in front the small hut that Yoda called home for twenty years, Juno watched the man named Shaddix as he learned about a life he could not remember.

Her story she told him quickly—detailing what she could remember about the ceremony she witnessed years ago. He looked thoughtful when she recalled the names invoked by the Dathomiri witches—Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Potter.

"Were they good people?" he finally asked.

"I think they were," Juno said. "They sensed the Force in me, and told me not to let the darkness of my masters at the time taint me."

"Five women dead because of me," he said.

"Because of Palpatine," Leia said, almost angry that he blamed himself. "You did not ask for them, you didn't ask to be…reborn, I suppose. It's not your fault, and I won't hear you say it again."

Mara nodded her firm assent, and Shaddix smiled weakly at their support. Juno watched the exchange closely, as she had watched them since they arrived. The three seemed connected on every level, and looked at each other with open adoration that made her feel all the more lonely for never having had a chance to explore those emotions with Galen.

When she was done with her story, Yoda took over, telling what he knew of Shaddix's past. On another log, the young Luke Skywalker Luke listened with a rapt expression, much like a little boy listening to his grandfather tell a story.

While Luke was handsome and glowed with Force potential, Juno had difficulty looking away from Shaddix, Leia and Mara. She watched how the three of them sat entranced as Yoda sang from the Journal of Whills. That is, he chanted in a sing-song fashion that his people called singing. Of all of them, Shaddix himself seemed the most fascinated.

By his own admission, Shaddix had no memories before waking in the Emperor's lair. He sat now, an arm around the red-head's waist and the other hand clenched firmly in the Princess's hand, listening to the story of his life he could not remember living.

The song went on for an hour until finally Yoda's voice squeaked and he had to stop. He barely made it into the fifth of what seemed to be a near infinite number of lives that Shaddix had lived previously. "Long, the Journal of the Whills is," he said. "Many days long. To sing it completely, a great feat is." He smiled. "Never finished it did I."

"Thank you for sharing it," Shaddix said. "So, how old am I? I mean, how long has it been? What happened? Why don't I recognize anything?"

Yoda looked at the seemingly young man with a somber expression. "Know for sure we know not. Much was lost, many generations passed. Long lived my people are, a thousand years for our eldest. A hundred years there is between our generations. Ten thousand generations it has been since cast from heaven my people were."

Shaddix blanched, and Juno noticed how the women on either side leaned into him, as if bracing him.

"A million years?" Shaddix whispered.

"So our theologians think," Yoda said. Juno turned to Yoda, catching a rare hint of emotion in the master's eyes. "Our god you are. Defended us you did from the angry gods. Died and were reborn you were, many times, in the war of heaven. When the heavens burned, led us all you did to this realm of being. Cast us from your side you did, but with cause. To save us, you cast us from heaven."

"I'm only twenty, twenty-one at the most," Shaddix said. "How could I possibly be your god?"

"Not your first life this is," Yoda said. "The song, remember the song. The Reborn God you are. The Forever Mage. For all time have you existed, born again and again to lead your people. But always, in all lives, the Journal of the Whills calls for five wives. Five to anchor your soul to your body. Such is your power that without all five, your body cannot hold the light of your being."

Yoda looked long and hard and Leia and Mara. "While powerful your wives are, only two there are."

"Not enough," Leia said.

Juno blinked, surprised to hear the princess say such a thing. Mara, though, nodded. "We had a dream that there were three women missing. His light couldn't enter him because there were not enough."

Shaddix's brilliant green eyes shifted from Yoda to Juno. "Is that why you're here, Captain Eclipse?"

"I'm here because I wished to become a Jedi," she said. "I came to honor the memory of Rahm Kota and Galen Marek."

A hint of guilt passed Shaddix's face. "I believed the Emperor's lies and thought Kota poisoned Mara. I captured him and was going to interrogate him, but the Emperor's agents killed him before I could. I'm very sorry for his death."

Juno bit her lip and nodded. "So do you know what caused her illness?"

Shaddix looked from one woman to the other, and finally said, "If everything I've just heard is to be believed…"

"It was your own power which caused her illness," Yoda said. "Not enough was any one woman, no matter her power. Why it is she woke, when bond with Leia Skywalker Organa you did."

Leia did not look happy with Yoda's name for her, but she still nodded. "At the end of the interrogation, when we had the vision of the galaxies," she said. "We went from fighting to kissing."

"As much as I regret hurting you," he said, "that was still the most incredible kiss."

Leia's smile looked sad. She turned to Yoda and asked, "Will his memories ever come back?"

"With more bonds, yes," Yoda said.

"You've been watching Shaddix all night," Mara said to Juno. "The fact that you're here, now, means that you had a role to play. Yoda obviously knew there had to be more women. And from the lack of surprise, you knew as well."

"I knew," Juno admitted. Her cheeks flared. "I've had Force visions."

"Really?" Mara said with an arched brow. "Were they spicy? Because you do know that when you bond with him, you have to consummate it with sex," Mara said.

Juno felt her cheeks blush. "I guessed."

"Lots and lots of sex," Mara added with a grin.

"Mara, be nice," Leia said.

"Like you didn't have lots and lots of sex too?"

Leia sighed in defeat. "Yes. And I still feel strange about it. I know father's not that happy I'm sharing a man either."

"May I ask you both a question?" Juno said.

The other ladies nodded.

"Are you happy with him?"

Shaddix blushed brilliantly, but did not move or speak.

Mara answered first. "The Emperor forced me to bond with him using Sith mind control. I was the first and only one for almost two years, and it nearly killed me. When I woke up, I was confused and angry, but by then the bond had already been formed and consummated. I realized what had happened and that it wasn't really Shaddix's fault, but I still wanted to be so angry at him. It felt as if my life had been stolen from me. Then he kissed me, and none of that mattered."

She looked at Shaddix, and all sign of the acerbic young woman faded before a gentle smile. "I know I'm not the nicest girl in the galaxy. I was raised by a Sith lord, after all. But if I had to do it all again to be where I am now? I really think I would. I am happy. Shaddix makes me happy." Shaddix's eyes grew moist, and Mara blew a raspberry. "Even if he is a drama queen."

"Stop," he whispered as he leaned down and gently kissed her.

"He was my captor and interrogator," Leia answered in her turn. "He hurt me terribly to get the plans to the Death Star I'd hidden. And yet I realize looking back that he hated himself for what he thought he had to do. He didn't know who he was, and he knew that if he didn't get the plans, worse men would torture me to death. But it all changed when Motti…" She stopped speaking for a moment.

Through the Force Juno could feel the other woman's pain, but she could also feel a surge of loving warmth from Shaddix as he held her hand. Leia smiled at him, and then nodded. "On the day my virginity was taken by force, I discovered my strength. Shaddix attacked my mind like before, but it was his mind that lost the fight. I killed the Sith in him that day. And a few days later, I consummated my bond with him. And yes, Juno, I am happy. And I think you would be too."

"So does that mean we should all just troop into her ship and go have sex?" Mara asked brightly.

"Is it that simple?" Luke asked, breaking the tension.

"Worked for us," Leia said. She looked at her furiously blushing brother. "Oh Mara, we need to get Luke a girlfriend. This must be killing him."

Luke blushed again, so bright he was in danger of making the fire dim.

"That Voltron girl liked him," Shaddix said. "And she'd do him in a minute."

"How do you know?" Leia asked, indignant her bondmate would speak of a female like that.

"Because she told him she'd do him in a minute," Shaddix said.

"She did, right in front of Luke," Mara added. "And the rest of Solo's squadron, and one of the deck officers. Solo asked if he could watch."

Luke buried his face in his hands. "My love life is not any of your concern," he said.

"It wouldn't be if you had one," Mara said. "We're just concerned for you, Luke. I mean, at the rate Shaddix's going, there aren't going to be any women left for you to have a relationship with. And once they're all bonded to Shaddix, we'll all think of you as a little brother."

Luke looked up and blinked. "You think of me as a little brother?"

"Well, yeah. I'm bonded to Leia as much as to Shaddix. She thinks of you that way, so I do," Mara said.

Luke shook his head. "Master Yoda, Master Kenobi said the Jedi of old weren't allowed attachment."

"And look where that got them," Shaddix said.

"Powerful, love is," Yoda said. "Drove your father, it did. If accept his love for your mother I did, different would history be. Not driven to Palpatine, Anakin would have been. A great Jedi could he have been. But listen not to the teasing of children. In your own time will you find love."

"Children?" Mara said indignantly.

"When nine hundred years old one is, everyone is a child."

"Am I?" Shaddix asked.

"Yes," Yoda said. "Without your memories, you are a child. But an ancient soul waits within. Bond with Padawan Eclipse, and that soul will be freed."

Shaddix looked from Mara and Leia. "What do you think?" he asked them.

"Well, she is very beautiful," Mara said.

"And smart," Leia added. "She saved Bail, Mon and Garm when Galen Marek fought off Vader and the Emperor. She was our first intelligence officer, and General Vernon almost cried when she left for Dagobah. She's also a great pilot."

Shaddix nodded. "That much I know. During the Dantooine raid, Han Solo, my best pilot, said she just plain out flew him. Coming from a Corellian, that is quite an admission."

Juno watched intently as Shaddix stood and stepped around the fire to kneel before her. All the Force visions she had been experiencing for the past six months swirled around her as he took her hand. The contact burned in a most delicious, unimaginable way. Just his touching her made her whole body tremble.

"Juno, I don't know if there is any ritual we're supposed to follow or not, so I guess I'll just ask you. Once this bond forms, it is for life. Whether you're a bondmate like Leia, or my wife like Mara, it will be for the remainder of your life. I can promise that…."

She leaned forward and kissed him, hard.

On the other side of the fire, Mara chuckled. "That is truly the only way to shut him up."

Shaddix's hands wrapped around her back and Juno fell to her knees in front of him as the kiss deepened. The air shimmered around them all.

"Okay, Luke, go to bed," Leia said. "Shaddix, Juno, Mara, in the ship now!"

Shaddix and Juno parted, staring at each other with intense but startled expressions. Without any further prompting, Shaddix stood with Juno's hand in his and walked quickly toward the ship with Leia and Mara a step behind.

In the silence that followed, Luke shook his head. "Some guys have all the luck."

"For every day of your life," Yoda said, "The Reborn God has died fighting for the light. Terrible were many of his deaths. Greater pain he has felt than any being alive in this galaxy. Grant him this joy, throughout all time it is the only joy he is allowed."

Luke looked back at the ship. "I suppose so."

"Master Obi-Wan you spoke of," Yoda said. "Many years since my friend I have seen. Tell me of him."

So the two spent the remainder of the evening talking about old friends, while in the _Rogue Shadow_ bonds were formed, and lives were remembered.

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: A Festering Mess **

Kyle swung his lightsaber—a gift from Kenobi during his last, abbreviated lesson—and caught the Imperial officer by surprise. Behind him, the SpecForce squad fired their modified, silent blasters, and in less than five seconds the squad of stormtroopers was dead.

"Motion or EMs?" Kyle whispered.

Behind him, in armor herself, Jan shook her head. "No motion, I'm not detecting any pulses indicating an alarm."

Kyle nodded in satisfaction. Though he missed the action on Yavin, his actions on Talay and Anoat were impressive enough to Vernon for him to be once more kicked up the command chain to lieutenant colonel. At the rate he was going, he would be supreme commander of the universe before he was thirty.

And somehow, he knew Jan would be right behind him, telling him what to do every minute of the day.

They knew about the Metallurgical Testing Station on Fest only because Moff Rebus could not stop bragging. He didn't actually answer any of their questions, but he bragged incessantly about how wonderful the new metal the Empire was researching was, and how many holes they would blast into the rebel scum once the testing on Fest was done.

For an evil genius, Rebus really wasn't that smart.

But the results spoke for themselves, and Kyle was leading the largest insertion team he'd had since he left the Empire.

Some were familiar faces, as well. Almost a quarter of his squad was made up of his former storm troopers who defected with him. He stood now, counting heads as the team shuffled past, a hundred men and women armed to the teeth, with an assault shuttle on the far side of the planet ready for air support or pick up if necessary.

SpecForce was not organized for large-scale combat, though. The Rebel military concentrated on small squad-force strike teams of four to five operators, each cross-trained to do all the jobs necessary in each team. It was an efficient organization, and the reason Kyle chose SpecForce instead of the regular Alliance army. Shaddix's glowing recommendation to General Vernon on his behalf ensured he got in.

"All are in position," the squad captains reported.

The facility was in the standard Imperial lay out, with broad halls and gray walls. His insertion team squatted behind the rocks leading up to then front entrance. The walls surrounding the base were easily forty feet high, and Kyle's monocle could detect the detection field rising up the wall surface.

"On three, teams one through nine are a go, team ten to cover." Kyle said. "Weapons hot, stun officers and anyone in white lab coats. Kill the rest. On three. One, two, three, go go go!"

Nine teams of ten men and women, plus Kyle and Jan, broke from their cover. Instantly two wall-mounted laser cannons swung out from hidden compartments, only to be met by a barrage of shoulder-mounted rockets from the covering tenth team. The incoming teams suddenly shot into the air as their gravity boots launched them above the laser-shielded walls.

Storm troopers were already pouring onto the ramparts of the wall but were not prepared for airborne troopers bearing down on them. Repeater blasters shot off staccato blasts that raked the defenders. Kyle was the first to land at the forefront of his men and had a lightsaber out with his right hand while he fired his blaster rifle with his left.

The battle was short and vicious. Three Rebels died, but the cost to the Empire was easily ten times that.

"Move!" Kyle said. "Teams seven and eight together," he ordered, since those were the teams with the losses. The plan was dependent on at least five teams. The main base defense seemed to be its secrecy—it did not appear on any Imperial documents and the system was otherwise empty.

Still, each hall was equipped with ceiling-mounted e-web blasters. However, each SpecForce team answered with a Destructive Electromagnetic Pulse 2 ion carbine, almost known was a DEMP 2 carbine. The e-webs had a three second turn radius, which meant that unless it was already pointed at you, it gave you a second or two to move or fire back.

If it was already pointed at you, you were dead.

Most cases, though, they were table to get off a shot from the DEMP II, which disabled the e-webs almost instantly. Only five fell to the e-webs before their teammates could destroy the weapons. They continued to meet sporadic resistance as they went, but with eight functioning teams and Kyle's lightsaber, the lightly defended facility had difficulty trying to hold back the onslaught.

That's when they meet the Dark Trooper.

Team 3 just finished clearing out a squad of storm troopers down the hall from Kyle when a single black _thing_ stepped in the hall in front of them. Kyle felt a surge of danger in the Force and looked up in time to see the ten men of Team 3 die before a barrage of dumb-fire missiles shot from almost point blank range.

"All teams converge, heavy in hall 22B!" Kyle ordered as he rushed forward with his blaster rifle firing.

The dark trooper moved faster than any human Kyle had seen and managed to dodge most of the fire while firing a blue-white plasma shot.

With a curse on his lips and a push with the Force, Kyle sent himself flying forward away from the burst. He dropped his blaster in the process, but emerged from the forward dive in a rolling thrust.

His lightsaber struck the lethal construct in the center of its abdominal plate and actually had his hand pushed aside; he could see burns and scorch marks in the armor, but the lightsaber did not pierce it. The dark trooper did not hesitate and sent Kyle flailing through the air with a backhand.

Team four emerged around a corner and opened up with DEMP guns and blasters. The Dark Trooper absorbed a lot of damage and fired back, forcing the team to break.

Kyle, bleeding and dizzy from the blow, jumped back into the fray. His saber slashed at the massive cannon the droid carried. An ordinary gun would have fallen in two—but even with this new metal, Kyle's swing was strong enough to damage the gun.

Again a fist sent him flying, this time toward his scattered people. He looked up from the blow to see the cannon pointed at him. This close, he saw it was a droid in storm-trooper type armor.

The droid pulled the trigger and the cannon exploded.

Kyle Force-pushed against the floor, causing himself to slide back and away from the worse of the concussion. His ears rang, though, and he could feel tiny bits of debris biting into his body from it. When he opened his eyes and the stars cleared, the droid stood in the center of the hall swaying unevenly. Its right arm was gone and one leg was damaged.

"Finish it!" Kyle cried in a pain-hoarsened voice.

The rest of the teams by then had congregated and fired on the droid until it went down. Instantly Jan and the nearest medic were there. "Ears," Kyle said. "Can't hear."

When he said that, both stopped talking and quickly put in a sonic stabilizer in each ear. The pain diminished as small squirts of bacta began their work. In the mean time, the devices allowed him to hear again, though through an artificial filter.

"What was that thing?" Jan asked.

"Something made of phrik that blew big holes in us," Kyle said. "If that's the Empire's new project, we're in for some good times ahead." He climbed to his feet, employing every Jedi trick Masters Kenobi It'kla taught him. "Is the rest of the base secured?"

"It is," the captain of Team 1 said.

"Let's go to the labs, then."

The separate teams did their jobs with predictable efficiency, cleaning out the interior defenses and defenders. All the captured researchers were gathered in the man laboratory. The station commander was still unconscious, but his code card sat on a table top not far from the team members guarding the prisoners.

A captain in a white lab coat was already awake and staring at the rebels with an expression of contempt.

"Well, well," Kyle said as he stepped into the room. "Captain Danson. Fancy seeing you here."

The captain spat. "Traitor. The Emperor is going to kill you!"

"Probably has bigger fish to fry," Kyle said. "So, tell me about these big troopers."

"I'll tell you nothing!" Danson said. "I can't believe I called you a friend once."

"Don't feel too bad. We were both young and stupid. But the difference is, I grew up and got smart. You just grew up. Jan, you have it?"

Jan handed Kyle a hypospray. Danson's eyes widened and he started to struggle when a pair of commandos held him down. Kyle injected his former academy classmate with the truth serum and then sat back, cross-legged in front of the man while the drug took effect.

"You okay, Kyle?" Jan whispered.

"I'll make it," Kyle promised.

When he saw Danson get glassy eyed, he took a deep breath and brought the Force to bear on the other man's mind. "Captain Danson, I am Lieutenant Kyle Katarn. You know me from the Academy."

"Yeah," Danson said with a faint smile. "Couldn't hold your whiskey for anything."

"I drank you under the tables twice, you lying Gamorrean cow."

"Yeah, good to see you again, Kyle."

"You too, Tenis. I have received orders from Moff Rebus to do an accounting of the research here. Report."

Danson's brows creased as for a moment he fought against the combined effects of the drugs and Kyle's mind against his own. The battle was brief, though. "Phase II of the Dark Trooper project was successful, but the phrikite processing is still slower than anticipated. However, we have produced enough troopers to escort Project Talisman as required."

"What is the status of Project Talisman?"

"The test on Talay was successful, although we lost a trooper there," Danson said. "We are ready for wide-spread deployment. Once the world is targeted, Project Talisman will deliver the plague vector and be fully protected against any ground defenses by the Dark Trooper escorts. Dark Troopers are not affected by the plague, but can be affected by rakghouls in sufficient numbers."

Kyle felt a little fist of cold in his chest. "Tenis, what is Project Talisman?"

"A piece of living history," Danson said. "You'll see more in the secured lab. With the commander's code card."

Kyle reared back. "Stun him, I've lost control," he said.

"You're all going to die," Danson shouted a moment before the blue stun rings hit him.

Kyle fell back and stretched out on the floor, recovering not just from his injuries, but the strain of overcoming the man's mind, even only temporarily. Jan knelt nearby, looking down at him in concern. "What'd he mean?"

"Well, at a guess, I'd say he meant something was going to kill us," he said.

Team One all chuckled. It was such a typical Katarn response. Kylisms, they were coming to be known.

"Smart ass," Jan said. She helped Kyle to his feet. "Well, do we look in the lab?"

"Not yet," Kyle said. "Danson said that after he slipped out of my control. He wanted us to go in there, and that means it's a nasty surprise. Let's raid all data first and get ready to clear out."

After they used the key code to access all the computer data and dumped it in mass into their crystals, Jan found out why Danson wanted them to enter the secured labs.

On the surveillance cams, they could see a pair of rakghouls in containment chambers, growling and pacing the floors angrily.

"Dark Troopers sounds bad," Jan said as they stared at the monsters, "but Project Talisman sounds terrifying. What if they introduced the plague into a heavily populated world? The last major rakghoul plague was on Taris thousands of years ago, and the world lost almost half its population."

Kyle nodded silently. "I don't know, Jan." He looked down at a man he had gone to school with; a man who would have happily watched him die at the hands of living nightmares.

"No prisoners, no traces," he said. "We have the data we need. All teams evacuate, we'll blow the base from orbit just like Talay."

"Agreed," Jan said.

In a million years, Luke Skywalker would never have imagined the life he now lived.

It all seemed like a lifetime ago that he was standing on the edge of his uncle's moisture farm, staring into the horizon and wishing he was out amidst the stars after adventure. That was before Artoo and Threepio crashed into his life, and his Aunt and Uncle died.

He trained briefly along side Kyle, as did Leia and Mara, under the combined tutelage of Master's Kenobi and It'Kla. Kyle had no idea who Luke was, until he finally confronted the other man about his Aunt and Uncle.

"I'm very sorry, Luke," came Kyle's response. "My troopers were under orders to retrieve the data at all costs. I read their report and they saw that that your aunt and uncle were openly hostile and that Owen Lars actually brandished a sand rifle at them. They responded as storm troopers are trained to respond to threats. I know that's cold comfort. I suspect they were trying to protect you. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Are you?" Luke said, unable to help the bitter tone to his words.

"The Empire killed my father too," Kyle said. "They tried to make it look like the work of rebels. But Shaddix found the truth and told me right before I transferred to his command. Before the end, he killed the man responsible. But the thing is, knowing Jerec is dead doesn't make me feel any better. So I've tried to be the best man I could be to honor my father."

Luke decided he liked Kyle after that.

Leia was the greater shock, though. A sister. A beautiful, smart, well-educated sister raised in the Core and elected as a sector senator while Luke was still going to public school and tinkering with vaporators. She amazed him and humbled him and made him wonder what he could have been with the right up-bringing.

Then he laughed at himself for wanting to change what he couldn't. Still, Bail was very, very nice to Luke and had taken on something of a fatherly role for the young Jedi, which Luke greatly appreciated.

His training in the Force was also progressing very fast under the combined talents of Obi-Wan Kenobi, his own father's master, and Ylenic It'kla. It was a rare day when anyone could best him in any of the Force-contests they had, not even Kyle, who was the most aggressive.

Of course, that meant when one of the others did beat him, everyone teased him, like the time Luke slipped and Leia blasted him through a wall of ice on Hoth.

But the most confusing thing in Luke's life was Shaddix.

Sometimes Shaddix acted like a teenager—laughing and joking. Other times he sat down with the executive council of the Alliance and flawlessly, often with nothing more than a sketch board, drew out plans for the defense of a base that ended up, at last reports, costing the Empire almost two million men.

Luke knew, as did most of the rest of the Alliance, that the Rebel leadership felt thrown off by the almost polar opposite aspects of Shaddix's personality. They were even more confused by his continuing relationship with two woman—one of whom was the adopted daughter of an Alliance founder. Bail hated it.

Luke wasn't too fond of it either. And yet, when he saw them together, they appeared so very happy. It was hard for him to be too harsh in his judgments.

Luke looked over at the large, black ship surrounded by the quick-growing trees of Dagobah. Inside, he knew his sister, Mara Jade and now Jedi Padawan Juno Eclipse were sleeping with Shaddix. His sister was having sex with a man who might very well be millions of years old.

Luke shook his head, remembering what Yoda told him. A Jedi did not let jealously guide his actions, but sometimes he looked at Mara, perhaps one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, and he couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

That she looked at him as a brother made Luke unutterably sad; when he looked at her, he felt as if they could have been something more than casual friends; more than brother and sister.

It didn't matter, though. What mattered was the Force, and finding his place in it.

He sighed and sat up. Around him, the evening air thrummed with life. There was a darkness on Dagobah, a darkness Yoda used to shroud his presence from the Emperor's constant searching. But with the darkness came life, and with life came the Force.

It was the one guilty pleasure Luke allowed himself, the feeling he got of bathing in the Force. It was the only way he could describe the sensation of letting the Force just lap at his body like water on a beach. It held its own ancient and undeniable rhythm, and the feeling of it calmed Luke like nothing else.

Because of his immersion in the Force, he felt Yoda approaching and was not surprised when the tiny Jedi Master sat across from him.

"Master," Luke said.

"Woke me, you did," Yoda said.

"I'm sorry, Master. I'll stop."

"No, do not stop," Yoda said. "Strong you are in the force, Young Skywalker. As strong as your father. But your mothers' heart do you have. Doubted I did your father's place in the Order, and with reason. But with you, doubt I do not. When rebuilt the order is, a leader of it you shall be."

"I…I thank you, Master."

Before he could respond further, the ramp of the _Rogue Shadow_ lowered and a figure stumbled out into the dark. Through the Force, the figure looked like a living, breathing sun. His power was so bright and brilliant it actually hurt, and so Luke had no choice but to rouse himself from his meditation.

Doing so allowed him to see a naked, shivering Shaddix stumble toward the small fire and collapse there. Not to his knees, but a full-facial collapse into the sod.

"Shaddix?" Luke jumped to the former Sith's side and rolled the man over.

Shaddix's face was coated in sweat, and now dirt and loam. He was shivering violently as if from a great fever, and ground his teeth together so tightly it looked as if they might break. "Master Yoda, what's wrong?"

Yoda walked over more calmly, with a somber expression. "Remembering, he is."

"How could remembering do this to him?"

"Imagine, young Skywalker, having the memories of thousands of lives poured into your mind all at once."

They looked up as the light from the ship's open ramp dimmed. Three women wearing various robes stepped barefoot onto the ground, rushing to where Luke knelt down and held the shaking man.

"Luke, what happened?" Leia asked as they arrived.

"He just stumbled out and fell down," Luke said.

"The third bond formed has," Yoda said. "Returning, his memories are. All of them."

"He's hurting so badly," Juno whispered. Luke almost reared away in shock at the power he felt when Juno, then Leia and Mara all placed their hands on the shivering young body. Almost at once the shivering stopped.

"You're all glowing," Luke whispered in awe.

"Before the Force were the gods," Yoda said. "Powers divine they possessed. Becoming gods themselves the wives must, for only as equals can they truly love the Forever Mage."

Shaddix suddenly started convulsing, even with all three women touching him. Mara let out a strangled sound of pain and Juno paled. Leia gasped but ground her teeth with determination. After a moment, though, the convulsions ended. Shaddix opened his eyes, and the light from his power illuminated the whole clearing, though only for a moment.

"Remember you do," Yoda said.

"Yes." Shaddix's voice was different than what Luke remembered. It sounded so unutterably tired.

"Shaddix?" Leia asked.

He turned his head until he was looking into her face. "My name is Harry Potter."

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen: The Real Story**

With morning came rain. The three bond mates of Harry Potter sat out by the doused fire despite the downpour. None of them said anything as the warm moisture saturated their clothes and skin. The three of them looked as miserable as they felt.

Luke kept them company because it hurt to see people he cared about be upset.

Yoda stayed because he enjoyed the rain.

They had stayed up almost all night, since the being named Harry Potter walked naked and alone into the jungle. The women at first tried to follow him, but somehow he locked them to the ground where they knelt, until he was sufficiently far away that looking for him in the dark would be dangerous.

They cried for a little while, huddled together weeping. Of the three, Luke thought Juno Eclipse appeared the most heartbroken. Though she said nothing aloud, he could see in her face that she thought Harry Potter's departure and pain was her fault.

They clung together, arms wrapped around each other, and before his eyes Luke could see Juno becoming one of them; bonding with them just as Mara and Leia bonded together despite being so radically different in temperament.

At some point, Luke entered Juno's ship and made caf for them all, and tea for Yoda. But otherwise they stayed huddled together, comforting each other while Luke and Yoda waited.

An hour after sunrise, the man named Harry Potter stepped through a line of trees and walked into the clearing. When he left, he was as naked as the day he was born…reborn. Now, as he stepped through the trees, he was dressed in an immaculate gray admiral's uniform with a green Alliance sash.

All three women looked up the moment he entered the clearing; and he was looking at all three of them intently as he walked past Luke. As he passed, Luke shivered at the feeling of power that radiated off him. But Harry had eyes only for his bond mates. Wordlessly, he knelt down before them.

He took Juno's hand and brought it up to his lips. Luke felt his cheeks flare as he saw her close her eyes and visibly tremble under the touch.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," he said. "I needed time to assimilate the memories. But I'm back. I won't leave you again." With that he leaned forward, took her face in his hands, and kissed her soundly. She actually moaned from the kiss, and swayed in place as he turned and gave both Mara, and then Leia, long, lingering kisses.

He looked up, and the rain stopped.

Luke's shiver turned into a shudder. Through the Force, Luke knew this man just stopped the rain. He felt a warm breeze, and suddenly he was dry. His clothes, hair and skin were all dry. He looked down and the mud was solid, like granite, and no longer covered everything.

The women were as dry as he was—even their hair. Brunette, red-head and blonde, all three were perfectly dry.

In a faltering voice, Juno asked the question even Luke was thinking. "Are you really a god?"

The chuckle from Potter sounded disturbingly dark. "No. I'm just a kid who was too stupid to die right the first time." He then waved a hand, and from the air a comfortable couch appeared. Luke jumped with a start when the log below him shimmered and changed into a plush chair.

Harry sat in the center of the couch and looked at the three stunned women. "Join me?"

Without word, they did so, sitting in the plush, comfortable couch. Harry stretched his arms out around them, with Juno and Leia on his left, and Mara on his right. He sighed and closed his eyes as the three of them snuggled into him.

Only then did he looked at Yoda. "You did well, my friend. You and all of your people. The elvin races have done better than we could ever have hoped to survive and grow strong."

Yoda's large eyes actually shimmered with unshed tears. "To heaven will you take us?"

"No," Harry said sadly. "Because what you remember as heaven was actually servitude. Elves were bound to our power. You could not live without us, and so you lived as servants to us. Often loved, but still ultimately enslaved. You did not lose heaven, my friend. The low and high elves gained freedom at last. And no matter how much you ask, I will not take that away from you."

Yoda's ears dropped, but still he smiled. "Child I am," he whispered. "Asking father for a trinket."

"You're no more a child than I am," Harry said. "I knew your ancestors, Yoda. If they could see you now, they would tell you how very proud they are of how far their children have come."

Yoda said nothing, but bowed his head in thought.

"So you remember?" Mara asked.

"I remember."

"Who are you?" Leia asked.

"I was born on a world that hasn't existed in two million years, a world where humanity first evolved. We didn't have spaceflight. There was no hyperdrive. Just us, alone in our one world, oblivious to the rest of the universe. Humans lived then much like now. We were born, worked, loved, if we were lucky we grew old, and then we died. But almost from the earliest days of humanity there was also a small population that was different."

"Jedi?" Luke asked brightly.

Harry grinned. "Would you believe that Jedi only exist because of an anti-radiation cure we created?"

"What?" Luke blinked.

"Wizards," Harry continued. "Humans capable of performing magic—that is, the intentional and willful manipulation of the universe around us with our minds. It was primitive of first—chanted songs to call rain. Curses to sicken or destroy our enemies. But as the base humans evolved and advanced, so did we. We created foci to help us wield our power. But we were very few—thousands to the millionsof humans. Hundreds of thousands to billions. So in time we hid ourselves away and became a separate society. Some of the leaders of the society formed a school, and went on to become the founders of our world. In fact we called them the Four Founders. They were Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. And I was their direct descendent—the last to claim heritage from all four."

"A year and a half after I was born, a dark wizard, spurred by prophecy, killed my parents and accidently embedded a portion of his soul in me. From that point forward, the two of us were linked and destined to destroy the other. But I was also the last carrier of these Founder's lines. So the magic of the school they created came to me, and with her guidance, I formed betrothal bonds with four young women to continue the magical lineages. A fifth was joined to carry my own family name. Frankly, when I found out the only way to kill this dark wizard was for the soul in me to die, and thus die myself, I accepted it because I had a chance to love five extraordinary, wonderful women and felt life could not get any better. But Hogwarts, our school, had other plans. One night, she led us through a ceremony that anchored my soul to the heart stone of the castle. I think at the time it was just a way to ensure that my wives could have children even after I died. I didn't question the details. I was only sixteen, after all. But the time came and the dark lord attacked. And to save one of my wives and my oldest friend, I walked out to him and let him torture me to death."

The three women listened in silence, their hands pressing against him. Luke gulped and Yoda looked sad.

"I've died so many times," Harry continued, "but that first death was always the worst, because I didn't know what was going to happen, and because they hurt me so badly. But my wives, led by the magic of the castle, performed the ceremony that you, Juno, witnessed, for the first time. And I was reborn. The scar that linked me to the dark lord was gone. I was born into my full power—the culmination of four powerful bloodlines. And I went forward and defeated that dark wizard."

He sighed. "Things weren't perfect. The wars of the base humans grew increasingly violent, and a few decades later, nuclear war engulfed our world and wiped wizard kind out entirely. Save for my granddaughter. She lived for three hundred years, looking for spontaneously born mages who could perform the ritual. She found them, and I found myself reborn four centuries after my second death. And that's when I realized that the ritual was not a one-use thing. That was the beginning. Mages spread out among the stars. We advanced. We studied our power with the advanced sciences of the base line humans. We learned to meld the two and take the best of each until something new was formed. And still we grew and changed. We fought wars and formed religions and lived and loved. We were happy and sad. We were victorious and lost horribly. Again and again I was born, lived, grew old and died. I fought wars against tyrants and fought wars to crush revolutions."

He paused, seemingly lost in the same memories he was recounting.

"And then I died for what I thought was the last time, I did so secure in the belief that we had achieved real peace. Humans and other species no longer fought. A galactic court resolved conflicts before wars arrived, and Mages ensured the peace against those who would threaten it. I died at peace, thinking I would never need to wake again."

Luke was startled to see a single tear run down his cheek.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Hubris," he said. "I was reborn again by five women barely recognizable as being Mages. Fifty thousand years I slept, and in that time Mages evolved as their power increased. They straddled the line between physical existence and an evolved state of pure energy. And they thought they knew what was best for all the beings of our galaxy. Even those who actually were gods."

He looked to his wives. "That's why I know I am not a god. Because I have met real ones. Beings who were billions of years old and whose very existence was brought forth from and tied to the continuation of the Universe itself. They too had the power to affect reality, but on a scale that seemed to dwarf our own, and considered themselves the most powerful beings in our galaxy. But over the million years since my first birth, mages went from being ignorant wizards waving wands around, to evolved beings of power who understand how their power worked, and mastered it completely. We became a threat."

"And struck, the angry gods did," Yoda said, as if quoting from scripture.

"And they struck," Harry agreed. "They caused the sun of my birth world to go Nova. In the blink of an eye, five hundred billion humans on three worlds—the world of my birth and two terraformed worlds, ceased to exist. They then struck at Caldos—the world I claimed as the home world for all future mages after my second rebirth. But their power reflected back onto themselves because of our planetary wards. It infuriated them, and they attacked other human worlds instead. They went back in time and we went with them, defending ourselves through the centuries. But still we were losing. They were so powerful. So my people summoned me—the Forever Mage. I emerged to find mages on the verge of physical perfection. Evolved and brilliant beyond anything you could imagine. I, who was always the most powerful mage by an order of magnitude, was just one of several with such power. But they had grown so powerful they had lost the viciousness to fight, and the means to do so. They were locked in defense and losing because of it. They summoned me, taught me their power as if I were a child all over, and let me loose with an army of mages."

The fire before them suddenly turned white and shot up in a cone, causing the others to rear back. Projected into the cone of white light, they could see images. Massive ships a hundred kilometers thick and wide soared through the stars, ripping space itself into great sheets of white.

"What is that?" she asked.

"The Continuum," Harry said. "A phase of existence beyond time and physical description, where the gods dwelled. In their billions of years of history, they had never been directly attacked. Until me. I struck at their home, just as they struck at mine, and I killed them. Whole star systems winked out of existence as, one by one, I killed the gods. But they fought back. I died each time they attacked, and was revived. I was almost as immortal as they were in my own way. I was the lower species' answer to them. Rather than face their own extinction, out of rage and hatred the last of the gods caused the extinction of everyone else."

"The galaxies," Leia remembered her vision.

"They changed time and space. They changed the underlying physics of the universe itself. The globular galaxy came slamming into our galaxy travelling a hundred million times faster than light. It took all our power to shield our worlds and retreat. The last god followed me, personally, and blamed me for the deaths of all the others. With the last mage command ship, I struck at the god and hurt it so badly it felt into the void, but it almost killed me again in the brief conflict.

"My wives and I brought the remnants of humanity from our home galaxy here and built star systems for them to live on. But our actions had more consequences than even we realized. You see, our power was lethal to none-mages over long periods of exposure. It was ultimately the reason why mages left the human worlds, to protect the humans. During the war, we flooded both our galaxy and this galaxy with massive amounts of anaphasic radiation—a side effect of our manipulation of universal forces. The dosage was high enough that some species actually started dying immediately. So we created what you call midi-chlorians to protect the humans and other species. With the last vestiges of our power, we freed Yoda's people, took from them our magic, and flooded their veins with midi-chlorians. We then used the last command ship and flooded the galaxy with midi-chlorians, even though it drained us all to our deaths."

He sighed. "And a million years later, Palpatine somehow found a book written by one of my wives, charmed to withstand the ages, found the heartstone, and forced my return."

"So now what?" Juno asked.

"Now, I teach you to harness real power. We find two more wives so that all of us are at full power, and we change the galaxy," he said. "But before that, there is something I need to do."

"What?" Juno asked.

"I need to love you all."

With that, Harry Potter and all three of his wives disappeared. The couch shimmered into air. The plush chair Luke sat on reverted back to a hard log, while the ground got muddy and the rain started to fall again.

Luke walked over and knelt beside Yoda, who had not moved at all. "Master Yoda?"

"Like nothing I imagined, he was," Yoda said. "Tell my people I must. A great day this is."

Luke heard a loud scream from the ship and jumped to his feet, prepared to help. "Loud, Mara Jade Potter is," Yoda said. "Disturb them you should not, or turned into a lizard you might be. Passionate is the Forever Mage."

The screams came again, and this time Luke could hear from Mara's voice that they were not screams of pain. He sat back down. "Maybe Danni the Veltron isn't so bad," he whispered to himself.

In the _Rogue Shadow_, Mara quivered as Harry rolled off her into the waiting embrace of Juno. As he kissed her and sent pulses of magic into her that had her quivering, he said, "You are my Ravenclaw. The seeker of knowledge and wisdom."

She spread her legs to accept him with her body and moaned. "Yes," she said. It was only their second time, and yet he felt absolutely perfect to her. Her moans increased with his tempo, until she could make no sound but heavy breathing. He finished and left her quivering. He then rolled onto Leia.

"You are my Slytherin," he said as his already hardened member slipped into her as well. "Cunning and brilliant, ambitious and strong, but with a compassion beyond yourself. You are everything the bond could desire and more."

"I love you," Leia said as she moaned.

"And I love you, Leia," he breathed back before leaning down and caressing her neck with his lips. He sent more pulses of magic into her body even as he thrust into her, until like the others she was left quivering with ecstasy unlike any should could ever have imagines.

And finally he came back to Mara, engulfing he even as she stretched and writhed sinuously against his body. "And who am I?" she asked.

"You're mine," he said simply. "Mara Jade Potter. Now we need Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, and the family will be complete.

The three women stared at him expressions of awe. "You just made love to all three of us," Leia whispered. "How are you not comatose?"

"It is magic," he said simply. Then he smiled as a memory came to him. "During one period in my last galaxy, both Mages and Humans worshipped me as a fertility god. It was embarrassing, but for a few hundred years women would revive me not because there was need of me, but because they knew I could love without physical limit. There would be public sex marathons for weeks. It was embarrassing, but on the other hand, there was no war either."

"How long did you last?" Mara asked, even as she turned on her side and started rubbing her rear against him.

"Weeks," he said. "As long as there is food, water and time for breaks, I can go on indefinitely. We heal each other's wounds, which also means any soreness or chaffing. We energize each other and restore each other. I could love you all, again and again, as many times as you could desire."

"Prove it," Mara said. She reached back, grabbed him, and guided him into her from behind.

"As you wish," he said, before he started suckling her neck again.

"Magic is wonderful," Juno said as she watched her new husband and bond sister love each other again. "I'm next."

Commander Cirk Gorran stifled a groan as his AT-ST once again got wedged between the massive fungal trees that covered the planet of Felucia. "Just blast it," he said.

The pilot nodded, backed the two-legged scout walker out from the narrow space and blasted it with the side-mounted laser cannons. In the new space the explosions cleared, they continued forward. Behind him a line of four more AT-STs followed, accompanied by fifty infantryman.

They were witch hunting.

The garrison on Felucia was small at best and not the most well-funded of all the posts. Felucia did not have a large or sophisticated populace—mostly Gossams who immigrated during the Clone Wars and never left.

The Empire itself merely stepped into the Confederacy of Independent System's role, taking over the CIS's capital of Kway Teow, and even garrisoning in the former CIS garrison headquarters. But unlike the CIS, the Empire did not tolerate resistance.

When the native Felucians began to attack both Gossams and human staff for the garrison, he decided enough was enough.

That's when Gorran's nightmare started.

He sent one of the garrison's three AT-ATs into the jungles to deal with the Felucians once and for all. He had yet to hear back from that AT-AT even after five months.

He sent in a squad of twenty storm troopers armed with enough firepower to take out a battalion of old CIS battle droids. Two men returned blubbering on about monsters from the shadows and the witch on the rancor.

Flyovers with TIEs were worse than useless—even the rancors that lived on the planet were invisible under the thick jungle cover.

The attacks actually grew bolder following Gorran's failed attempts to deal with it. Farmers started to complain bitterly and even rioted once, though his men were capable enough to put that fiasco down. But the truth was, neither he nor his base was safe while the threat continued.

And so here he was, leading a ground assault team into the densest part of the jungle in the capital sector, intent to kill anything sentient that lived.

If Gorran actually read the Moff College procedural memos, he might have seen that garrison commanders on other worlds used ground-clearing fire bombs to create an interdiction zone around all habitable areas and military sites that prevented hidden attacks, since many native species found Imperial occupation unpleasant. While ecologically damaging, such action would have created a kilometer-wide kill zone that would have effectively ended all attacks on his facility, and protected the town plus any settlements around the city.

Sadly, Gorran was too busy playing holonet sabacc tournaments and having parties with the female contractors who came with the garrison to actually read memos. So, he instead sat in an uncomfortable AT-ST, fighting back motion sickness, as he left fifty infantrymen and another twenty in the AT-STs into the jungle.

He had no idea where he was going.

The first clue that something was not right was the massive bull rancor that burst from the jungle wall directly in front of his AT-ST. The great beast stood as tall as the AT-ST itself and with one sweep of its massively clawed hand, Gorran's world turned sideways with the crashing of his AT-ST.

When he came to his senses a moment later, he became aware of terrified voices screaming through the comlink in his helmet, and also of a terrible pain in his left. He looked down and saw his knee bent at an unnatural angle.

"Pilot, are our weapons still active?" he asked.

He then saw that the pilot was at best unconscious, or worse, and more likely, was dead. His head was turned at the same angle as Gorran's knee.

He popped the top hatch and dragged himself from his webbing. As he emerged, he heard the sound of blaster fire and screaming soldiers, but his view was obstructed by the muddy ground he felt into.

He could not help but cry out in pain as his fall wrenched his broken knee. The cry attracted unwanted attention. With guttural grunts, Felucians swarmed around him, bipedal but almost unrecognizable as living beings because of the huge masks they were. Webbed fingers grasped spears, bows and arrows, and newly acquired Imperial blaster rifles.

From their midst stepped the witch herself.

"You're real," Gorran whispered.

She stood before him wearing as little as the Felucians themselves—filthy leather pants and nothing else. Her face was partially covered by a smaller version of a Felucian mask, but he could still see yellow eyes staring coldly through them.

If Gorran did not have a broken leg and a small chance of survival, he might have been aroused her bared, mud-splattered chest. But pain and the threat of impending death overwhelmed his admittedly large libido.

"Commander Gorran," the witch said in an oddly pleasant voice, "you've been a naughty boy, haven't you?"

"If you surrender now," Gorran said, "I will plead leniency for you at your trial."

"Surrender?" Her laugh chilled him. "Commander, I promise you will not plead leniency for me or anyone else. When my friends said you were here in person, I just had to see it. But now that I've seen you, the novelty has worn off. You were not a worthy opponent to begin with. But at least you'll contribute something to this world."

With that, she turned and walked away. The Felucians also backed away, seeming to meld into the air and the jungle around the fallen convoy. "Base, this is Commander Gorran," he said into his comlink, "send air pick up immediately!"

"Shuttle inbound, commander," a voice responded.

It was the last voice he ever heard.

His shattered AT-ST rattled as it rolled away, and Gorran found himself staring into the eyes of the same bull rancor that knocked his craft down. It made a satisfied grunting sound as it reached for him.

"Noooooooo!"

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: A Girl and her Rancor**

"Will the local garrison detect us?" Leia asked.

Juno shook her head. "The _Rogue_ is almost invisible to Imperial sensors. Only the new Imp-II class destroyers can detect us with their upgraded sensor suites. The garrison won't even know we're there. The question is where do we land?"

"Guide you, the Force will," Yoda said from the hatch leading into the cockpit.

Juno nodded. She closed her eyes and reached out with her senses just as Yoda said, and then recoiled. "This world is…angry."

"Sensitive to the force, the natives are," Yoda said. "In Shaak Ti did they trust. Hurt them her death did. To the dark side, they turned."

Leia watched as Juno flew with a sure hand over the teaming forests of the planet, her eyes closed and her true senses extended. After only a few minutes of flying, they came to a clearing marked by black scorches and four broken AT-STs. Some of the scout walkers had been torn apart like food cans.

Juno did not comment on the destroyed Imperial convoy as she sat the _Rogue Shadow_ down.

A moment later, Harry stuck his head into the cockpit. Through the port screens he could see the fallen AT-STs. "Hmm, I like her already."

"This planet is thrumming with darkness," Juno said.

"Yeah, it tickles a little," Harry said. "Come on, she should be coming soon."

He led his three bondmates, Luke and Yoda out of the shadow, then turned and squinted at it. The others gasped as the ship disappeared. "Everybody remember where we parked," he said.

They did not have long to wait for the lost padawan to make an appearance. The forests of huge fungus-like trees parted before a monstrosity.

"Wow, now that's a beasty," Harry muttered.

"It's a rancor," Juno said with forced calm. "A bull rancor."

"And that is a half-naked woman riding the rancor," Luke said.

"Of course he'd notice the woman first," Mara muttered. "Gods, you need a girlfriend, Luke."

Harry though walked through the mud toward the rancor. A moment later two more rancors emerged, along with a line of blue-skinned figures shimmering with bioluminescence and the Force. Harry continued walking toward them anyway, stopping halfway across the battle-scarred clearing.

"Hi!" he called. "Are you Maris Brood?"

Atop her rancor, the witch of Felucia felt a thrill of something almost like fear. "Who are you?" she demanded. "I recognize that ship—has the Emperor sent you?"

Harry cocked his head. "So the Emperor sent me with Master Yoda, did he?"

Her yellow eyes locked onto the diminutive Jedi master, and he could see her body respond as if struck. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I have come for you," Harry said, "but not like you seem to expect."

The rancor roared. Maris started to sooth it, when below her Harry bellowed back. The rancor snuffled and Maris could sense its confusion. "What are you doing?"

"I'm asking _Sshhhrrhaak_ what he thinks about you," Harry said. "Your rancor is actually quite intelligent."

As if to prove the assertion, the creature grunted at Harry and made a low rumbling sound. Maris could not speak the Rancor's primitive language directly, but she could recognize affection in the sound.

"He likes you," Harry said. "He said you need a strong bull to guide you. He said you are lost and wish to be found."

"How…how can you speak with Rancors?"

"Magic. I can speak with almost anything that is self-aware. I'm here, Maris Brood, to court you. I wish you to be my wife."

Maris couldn't help it—she started to laugh. The laughter was strong enough that it made her ribs sore. Around her, her Felucian friends snuffled in confusion at the strange warrior who made their mistress laugh so hard.

Maris continued to laugh as she launched herself off her Rancor, lit her shoto lightsabers in mid-flit, and landed in a roll, both blades extended to cut her 'suitor' in half. She was surprised when a blue lightsaber swept both her blades away.

"I was trained Sith, if you must know, but I know Jedi arts as well.. My Imperial name is Darth Shaddix, Dark Lord of the Sith. But you can call me Harry."

Laughter gave way to rage as Maris launched her attack. She moved quickly but with the uneven strength and flow of a half-trained padawan long removed from that training. Harry ignited both blades and simply blocked her attempts to skewer him.

"While we're doing introductions," he said casually as he continued to block and parry, "the beautiful girl with the red hair over there is my wife Mara Jade Potter. The statuesque blonde in the Jedi robes is my…Juno, do you want to be my bondmate or wife?"

Snarling in rage at his casual defense against her best attacks, Maris sank invisibly to the Force.

Juno ignored the battle. "Well, I think for all intents and purposes we are married. I would like to think of you as my husband at this point."

"Excellent!" Harry reached out toward the air with a claw motion and jerked his hand to one side. Maris stumbled into view, clearly startled.

"So, this is my wife of three days, Juno Eclipse, Lady Ravenclaw. Leia, still a bondmate?"

"For now," Leia said. "I reserve the right to change later."

"Okay. And finally, the petite brunette is the Princess Leia Organa Skywalker of Alderaan, former sector senator, Jedi padawan and the Lady Slytherin."

Maris broke away, breathing heavily and clearly incensed. "What is wrong with you? Fight me!"

"I don't want to fight you," Harry said. "I want to save you."

"From what? I'm fine here."

"From yourself, Maris Brood."

She ground her teeth. "You should be more worried about yourself!" She charged forward, and this time Harry did not use his blades. He raised a palm, and a burst of white light shot out. The light seemed almost to take the shape of a strange animal before it passed into Maris.

The charging woman stopped, blinking in shock. Around the clearing Felucians snuffled and the rancors grunted. To the Jedi assembled by the ship, it felt as if the rancors were approving.

"What was that?" Maris asked. All the anger was gone, leaving only curiosity in its wake.

"Happiness," Harry said. "How long has it been, Maris, since you felt anything like that?"

She looked up at him. "It's a lie. It's all a lie."

The air around Harry shimmered, and suddenly he seemed to catch fire; only the flame was perfectly white. Shards of the light shot out in all directions as he stepped toward the startled lost padawan.

"Maris Brood," he said in a voice that boomed across the clearing, "I am Harry Potter, the Forever Mage. I was born from love and sacrifice, and I live to serve and love those around me. I have come for you, Maris, because I have seen your soul. You've tasted pain and despair and loneliness, but there is still good in you. And so I offer you myself. As husband and master. I offer you sister wives to love and care for you. I offer you power and learning like you've never imagined. And I offer you peace, happiness, and most importantly, family. If you just take it."

Harry stepped closer to the trembling girl. "I also offer you this promise, Maris. That while I live, I shall never abandon you. I shall never hurt you. I will never betray you. I vow this on my soul and my magic, to forever be yours. But you must make the choice. I cannot make it for you."

"They betrayed me," Maris whispered. "Master Ti left me here alone to die."

"She gave her life so that you could live," Harry said, still in that strangely deep, authoritative tone. "She loved you so deeply she gave everything she had for you. But Maris, do you think your master would wish you to live this way? Would a master willing to give her life for you not want you to know happiness?"

"Happiness is a lie," Maris said. Her trembling grew too much and she toppled knees in the mud.

Harry stepped forward until he knelt down beside her. Gently, he lifted a hand until he rested a palm against her muddy cheek. The trembling stopped and Maris sighed as she leaned against the hand. "How can you be real?" she whispered in awe as the white light within his hand passed into her.

"What you are feeling is a possibility," Harry said, finally in a more normal tone of voice. "A hint of what we could share." His hand came around until his cupped her chin and lifted her face until her nose was inches from his. "Maris, I am a being of power. An ancient soul in a new body. My soul wants so badly to return to the comfort of death. For me to live I must have five anchors. Women of power and goodness. And in return, I offer you happiness and love. Not just mine, but of your sisters. Come with us. Let us love you. Let us make you happy."

She was shaking violently now as she stared up into his eyes. "It has to be a lie."

"You know it isn't."

"I've been here almost my whole life."

"Then it is time to start a new life."

"I don't think I can."

Nearby, Mara rushed forward until she knelt beside the bewildered and frightened padawan. "I'll help you," Mara said. "You'll be my sister! It's so wonderful, Maris. Please, please come with us."

Maris bowed her head, and then collapsed forward until her head rested on Harry's chest. Great, terrible sobs wracked her chest. Mara laid a hand on the woman's bare, filthy back between the thick strands of dirty braids. A moment later, Juno and Mara joined her, even as Harry cradled her.

"No more tears," he whispered as he initiated the bond.

The air around them shimmered. Leia, Juno and Mara all felt the rush as the air energized around them. Maris's sobs turned into a low moan. Almost of their own accord, filthy white arms reached around his neck. Purple lips made moist by tears met his.

Maris finally broke the kiss with a startled expression. "You're real," she whispered. "You're really holding me."

"I am."

She turned and looked up at the mighty bull rancor, smiling sadly. "I think…I think it's time for me to go," she told it.

The rancor grumbled happily at her, before turning to lead his herd back into the brush. When they were gone, she looked back at Harry. "It wasn't a trick, was it?"

"No," he said. "We've bonded now, Maris. If you wish to take the name, you would be Maris, Lady Hufflepuff."

"Hufflepuff?" she said. "What an odd name."

"It is the name of a powerful mage from before even my time. She believed in loyalty and hard work. My magic selected that line for you, Maris, because you needed both to be loyal, and to have the loyalty of those around you. Without it, you were lost. But we've found you. You're a part of a new family, and we will never leave you."

Mara stood, and then Harry. Together they helped the trembling Maris to her feet. Only then did she look down and realize she was all but naked. Rather than try to cover herself, she said, "I have nothing to wear."

Harry waved a hand and black silk cloth spun itself from the air until it covered her. Maris simply held the cloth around her before looking up at Harry. His face was smudged with mud from her arms and her lips. "You promise to love me?"

"I can honestly say that I will love you forever, Maris. I promise this."

Maris stared at her reflection in the mirror, startled by what she saw. It had been so very long since she was surrounded by hard, artificial walls. It had been longer still since she stared into a mirror. Vanity was not encouraged in the temple, and even if it were, she was still just a child when she left.

Juno Eclipse's ship surprised her—the fresher was much larger and complete than she would have thought on a personal craft. She stood alone in it now, trying to remember how things worked.

The flusher was simple enough and she made use of it without hesitation. But the bath…such things were unusual on starships. The dorms her clan of younglings used in the Temple held only a unisex common shower. This was actually a pre-fabricated unit comprised of a tub, three walls and a shower stall with real water.

It took a moment of fiddling before the water started pouring out of the spout into the bath, and another to switch it to the shower head. She pulled a featureless plastic curtain across the open side to keep the water from splashing everywhere, and simply stood under the water.

She lowered her head as the soothing warmth flowed over her and watched as bits of mud began to flake off and drain away. She raised an arm and ran one hand down its length, exposing the pale skin below. The weight of her hair started to pull at her so she reached up to uncoil the braids she wrapped around her own neck in order to keep them out of her face.

The braids were clotted with oil, mulch and other filth, and she realized with surprise that she had never washed her hair the entire time they were on Felucia, which was most of her life.

She sat down in the tub with the shower still going and began to undo braids held together by a cement of filth. She eventually turned the water off after plugging the drain so she could work on her hair. Eventually she got all the braids undone and pulled the bundle of hair around her shoulder.

It was so long! Loose and flowing, the hair could easily reach her ankles. It was so much—too much. The worse came when she examined one strand and saw insects crawling in it. She looked down into the filthy water and realized the water was also alive with the vermin that had been living in her hair.

There was a knock on the door. "What!" Maris cried, horrified and disgusted with herself.

The door opened and the princess came in. The daughter of Bail Organa. The beautiful little princess in her white and brown Alliance uniform with the perfectly coiffed hair without a smudge of dirt on her, where here Maris was sitting naked in a tub of muddy water with bugs crawling around her. She wanted to yell at the beautiful girl, or make a biting comment. Instead all that came out was a teary-eyed "There are vermin living in my hair."

Leia, who was simply coming to check Maris, stopped and blinked in surprise. The Zabrak was younger than she thought at first, though obviously older than she was. She sat naked and pale in a tub of filthy water with hair long enough to cover her whole body and an expression of hopeless frustration and loss.

The woman was beautiful, strikingly so with her delicate red horns and yellow eyes. Her natural coloring gave her purple lips, and those lips were caught in a grimace of self-disgust, even while those yellow eyes bled tears.

"I was just coming to see if you are all right."

"I'm filthy and sore and covered in bugs," Maris said as she splashed the water with her fists in frustration.

"How long has it been since you've had a bath like this?"

The confession of "I don't know" came as a barely audible whisper.

The compassionate spokeswoman for rights and liberty came to the fore. "Don't move," she said before disappearing from the room.

Five minutes later Leia returned with a basket in her hand. She pulled up the sleeves of her uniform, put one of the two towels in the room on the floor, and knelt down beside the Jedi padawan.

"I heard them call you Skywalker. Leia Skywalker Organa. Are you…are you Anakin's daughter?"

"I am Bail Organa's daughter. Anakin Skywalker is my biological father only."

The answer at first surprised Maris, but then she smiled weakly. "I had such a crush on him. We all did. He was so handsome and seemed so kind to us. Sometimes between missions he would come and spend the whole day just playing with us. I didn't…" She couldn't finish.

Leia didn't answer at first as she took a box of white powder and dumped the whole thing on Maris's head. As the padawan sputtered, Leia finally said, "I saw a recording. Of when he fought my mother right before he went into that horrid armor. Obi-Wan said the man in that video was not the man who loved my mother. He said the Dark Side twisted him into a monster."

"That's what the Dark Side does," Maris admitted. "I…I hurt your adopted father. Why are you helping me?"

"Because I was raised by my father," Leia said simply, "and it's the right thing to do. You've bonded with Harry. You are my sister now." She began vigorously rubbing the powder into Maris's long hair. The lather poured into the water, killing all the vermin on or in it, and effectively cleansing the Zabrak's entire body.

"Now stand up," Leia commanded, firmly in boss mode.

The silent padawan did just that as Leia pulled the plug to let the filthy, insect-laden water drain. She turned the shower back on and helped Maris rinse the insecticide from her hair. She then gave the young woman a conditioning shampoo and body soap.

"Finish up and I'll be here to help you with your hair."

Maris stammered her thanks before finishing her shower. When she finished she found Leia and, surprisingly, Mara, waiting for her with a water-stained gown and a determined expression. "That's a lot of hair," Mara said. "But stars above I wish my breasts were that big.

Maris looked down and saw the tips of her hair brushing against her heels, but could not see her own toes for the mounds Mara admired so much.

The drying of her body took minutes. The drying of her hair seemed interminable. Finally, she looked up to see Leia and Mara observing her hair with a pair of cutters.

"Lower back?" Leia asked.

"You and your Alderaani hair styles," Mara muttered. "Shoulder length. Maybe even shorter. Look at that neck—why cover up beauty like that?"

"You think I'm beautiful?" Maris said, surprised.

Mara blinked and then smiled. "You are extraordinary. I'm getting randy just looking at you." She stepped forward and gathered the locks up until she was able to lift them to just above the level of Maris's ears. "Your face is beautiful, but your neck is what Harry will truly love."

"It's about more than just what Harry wants," Leia said. "She needs to feel good about herself for herself."

Maris, though, looked at Mara. "You really think he'll like my neck?"

Leia sighed and rolled her eyes, knowing she'd lost the argument. "Fine." With one quick pass, she cut the older woman's hair.

Maris sighed as the weight left her. "Wow," she whispered. "I never realized it was so heavy."

With her hair off her shoulders, Mara and Leia began working the tangles out of it, pleased to see the conditioner had done its job.

"You have beautiful hair," Leia said. "Have to be careful, though. Those horns are sharp."

Maris laughed for a moment, and then stared at her reflection in the mirror in surprise. "I…thank you, Princess."

"My name is Leia."

"And my name is Mara," Mara said with a smile.

"I'm Maris."

"A pleasure to meet you, Maris," they said.

"And you. Thank you for helping me."

Leia examined her work critically before nodding in satisfaction. "It was my pleasure. You are a beautiful woman."

Mara went further, wrapped her arm around Maris's narrow waist, and hugged her. "Very beautiful."

"I hope he thinks so," Maris whispered.

"He does," Harry said from the door.

"Harry, she's naked!" Leia said.

"I noticed, thank you."

Maris did not bother hiding herself as she turned to face this strange man who saved her from the darkness of her own rage. She saw the last of the bondmates standing behind him with wide eyes.

"Oh, she's gorgeous!" Juno said.

"I know, right?" Mara said. "Come on, let's go have sex!"

"You three go ahead," Harry said with a grin. "Maris and I need a little time alone."

Mara looked appraisingly at Leia. "The answer is still no, Mara." Mara turned to Juno.

"I'm still not sure what the question is," Juno admitted.

"I'll show you!" Mara said. She slipped past Harry, and Leia followed a moment. She paused at the door.

"Remember her life," the princess said softly before disappearing.

Harry stepped in all the way and closed the door. "I was thinking we could talk before we consummated the bond and made anything permanent."

"If I change my mind, will I go back?" she asked.

"No. Including Yoda, I know two Jedi masters and a very capable knight who would take you as a padawan and complete your training. Love me or not, I will not let you get lost again." He turned to the rub, and before Juno's amazed eyes the tub doubled and then tripled in size, seeming to move the walls themselves back as it did so. A moment later, it was filled with steaming water.

"Now that you've had a bath to get clean, I thought we might have a bath to relax." He shrugged out of the strange black robes he wore, and Maris sucked in a breath seeing a man nude for the first time.

She was surprised at how beautiful he was; at how she wanted him. He held out a hand to her, which she took, and let him guide her into the water. He sat down, sinking up to his stomach in the tub. She followed, and sank down opposite him.

"You have questions," he said.

"What are you?"

"My name is Harry Potter. I was born on a planet called Earth, in a distant galaxy, approximately two million years ago. I am what the people of this galaxy have come to call a Celestial."

Her yellow eyes widened. "How…?"

So Harry told her the story of his life; of his first wives and the bonds they shared; of the horcrux and his surrender to Voldemort. Then of the war that destroyed the wizarding world; and the ritual which revived it over three centuries later.

"Every couple of centuries five women would perform the ritual, either because they needed me, or because someone thought they needed me and compelled the women to do it. Each life I learned something new. These bonds don't just call me to be reborn; they anchor me to this plane. It is the price of this method of immortality."

"Couldn't your wives make the horcrux as well to life forever?" she asked.

"One critical piece would be missing," he said. "The heartstone of Hogwarts. Turns out it is the most magical artifact that was every created. Not the most powerful, but the most magical. Once I bound my soul to the heartstone, it could not be used for anyone else. And even in all my power, I could not recreate it. But honestly, Maris, there is no need. I've died so many times that I do not fear it. I don't pretend to know about other species, but when a mage dies, their soul does translate into a higher plane of existence. A new continuum where we can stay forever. The first woman I ever loved is still there, waiting for me, where s many of my wives have allowed themselves to fade into mere memory. In a real sense, all Mages are immortal."

"But I'm not a…."

"When we consummate the bond, you will become a mage," Harry said. "Although I hope you keep the horns. Are they ticklish?" He reached across and gently caressed the base of her front horn. The sensation caused gooseflesh to ripple across her body.

He smiled, noticing the effect on her body. "Well, maybe not ticklish, but they are obviously sensitive."

"You came to Felucia for me alone," she said. "Why?"

"Juno told me about you. I have a saving people thing. I always have. When I heard your story, I wanted to save you. There was also the hope that I could form a bond with you. The saving you thing is not dependent on the bond. I don't want you to feel obligated."

"How do we consummate the bond?"

"You know."

Maris bit her lip. "I…I would like to hear you say it."

"Well," Harry said, "first I would pull you to me, and I would kiss your neck like this."

"Ohhhhh," Maris breathed. Mara was right. His lips felt so good on her neck. "What next?"

"Next, I'm going to lick your horn. Think of it as a personal fetish from the second Mrs. Potter."

She did not object as he gently guided her head down so he could run his tongue around the base of her horn. The sensation was so startling she had to restrain herself from jumping and impaling the roof of his mouth. Instead, she went lower and kissed his neck as he kissed hers.

"What next?' she asked as she ran her lips across his skin.

"I was thinking about those incredible purple nipples, myself."

He showed her what he meant, and she gasped at it. He showed her more than she ever imagined, and when the time came where she could not stand it, he showed her how a bond was consummated. The ecstasy was so powerful it bordered on pain, overwhelming any sense of control she had, until she screamed in release from it.

She should not have been surprised when she suddenly found herself surrounded by three other beautiful women. She leaned back, basking, in the arms of Leia and Juno and watched as Harry and Mara made love. Then he and Leia, and then he and Juno, one after the other, without a break. And then he was back before her, slipping between her legs and filling her with power and magic.

She didn't understand how he could go non-stop, but did not question it too closely either. All she knew was that he was filling up her soul, which had fallen dangerously empty over the years. She wept and smiled as he loved her, and knew at long last she was home.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty: It's a Mud, Mud, Mud, Mud World**

"How in the hell did you talk me into this again?" Kyle said as he pulled at the collar of his shiny new Alliance SpecForce uniform.

Jan batted her eyes. "I said please?"

"I've hit you before," he warned.

"And got your scrawny ass kicked because of it."

"True."

The banter between he and Ors continued as the two walked toward the bridge of the _Teelin_, the _Nebulon-B_ Alliance frigate escorting them to Jabiim. He wore the uniform of a newly commissioned Colonel in the Alliance Special Forces command, having once again been promoted.

The past year working along-side the rebel operative who from the Empire was a strange experience. Like Lord Shaddix, she was at one frustrating and exhilarating. She was one of the finest field operatives the Alliance had, and served as his intelligence officer.

But something changed on Talay. There was something about the fear on her face that moved him in a way he had not felt before. The shell of anger and rage over his father's death started to crack a little as he watched her scream before a rakghoul assault. He saw that same fear in her eyes on fest. Jan did not scream, ever. It infuriated him that there was something in the universe that could make this woman scream at all, and he wanted to destroy it.

Now, with none of the Jabiimi settlements responding, it was beginning to look like Project Talisman was finally deployed in a large scale.

On the bridge of the _Teelin_, Kyle stood biting his lip and thinking about Talay. Nearby, Captain Tanning clucked his tongue. "Well, we've tried every frequency. One thing odd though, is that the Imperial garrison is gone. This was a highly subjugated world, but there is no trace of any Imperial presence."

"Which means the Empire pulled out before it deployed the weapon," Jan said.

"Sir," communications said, "the _Yavin_ has just arrived. We're receiving a signal."

"Put it on, Devins."

A moment later, a hologram of General Airen Cracken appeared. "Colonel Katarn, at last! I've been monitoring your work tracking this thing down and have wanted to see you in action."

"Thank you, General," Kyle said. "We don't believe the device is still on the surface, but we're hoping we can find some intelligence to narrow down exactly what it is. But sir, you should know if this is the rakghoul plague, and contact with the rakghouls will infect your men."

"I've been researching history since I first read about your Talay mission. I wasn't able to recreate the serum, but I have something almost as good. We're going down there in stormtrooper armor with full environmental isolation settings."

"Smart," Kyle said.

"I thought so too. We're going to be landing near Jabiimabad, the capital city. We're taking the whole ship down in the event we need to evacuate any civilians. I recommend you bring your people over here. Captain Tanning, I want the _Teelin_ to stay in orbit and monitor for any incoming Imperial activity."

"Understood, General," Captain Tanning said.

Half an hour later, Kyle, Jan and his SpecForce team of a hundred soldiers shuttled over to the _Yavin_, a brightly painted Clone Wars-era _Acclamator_-cass frigate. The _Acclamator_ frigates were originally designed to carry an entire invasion force of 16,000 clones and all the assorted attack craft necessary for surface combat. The Alliance did not have personnel to ship around 16,000 men armies.

The thousand men and women in the main assembly area of the ship was, for the Alliance, a significant commitment. It was, Kyle knew, a gesture to the Jabiimi people. The Jabiim rebellion had been fighting the Empire privately for twenty years; it was time for them to join the larger Rebellion.

Airen Cracken proved to be a wide-bodied, wide-faced man with graying hair and a friendly smile. A rebel on his own world who took the fight against the Empire to the stars, Cracken was in his own way a fanatic. He was also an intelligence genius and was already being touted as Vernan's replacement when the old Intelligence chief retired, which he was considering on a daily basis.

"Kyle Katarn, a pleasure," the General said as he shook Kyle's hand. "And the indomitable Jan Ors. Vernan's told me you two are the best command team he's ever seen."

"Glad you think so," Kyle said. "So, initial direction, sir?"

"We set up a perimeter, and then start reconnaissance in Force. For the duration of this mission you are second in command."

"Thank you, sir."

The old but well-built frigate slid through the turbulent atmosphere of the planet. The pilot brought the hulking thing down with only a little bounce to the landing struts. The massive loading ramp dropped to reveal a landscape of rain and mud.

During the landing Kyle made the rounds of Cracken's army. Most were actually regular army, including still more of Kyle's old storm troopers who greeted their former officer with friendly smiles. He made a quick study of the force shield pylons that they would be using to establish the perimeter around the ship.

As soon as the ramp was down, two dozen speeder bikes shot out into the rain with the pylons. The bikers sank the pylons into the mud every hundred feet in a circle around the base of the entire ship, creating sufficient area underneath the ship itself for the soldiers to assemble and set up camp. When the last pylon was sunk, all the separate pylons extended to fifteen feet high while shooting a stabilizing dart further into the muddy soil, and in a cascade a force shield hummed into existence, panel by panel, between the pylons.

Cracken then unveiled his pet prize—a mint-condition, Clone War era juggernaut tank. The fifty-meter long behemoth. Kyle walked up to one of the wheels, and did not even come up to a third of its diameter. "Wow," he muttered to Jan. "An old A6. How in the Force did Cracken snag that thing?"

"Rebel requisition," Jan said. "He stole it."

When Cracken meant recon in force, he meant it. Over a hundred of his soldiers packed into the Juggernaut while another five hundred broke into fifty teams of ten for ground recon. "We riding in style?" Jan asked.

Kyle looked at the massive tank for a long time, and then shook his head. "I have a feeling."

"An 'I have a feeling that if I asked Jan on a civvie date she will say yes' feeling, or a 'oh my stars were all going to die screaming' feeling?"

"Yeah, that kind of feeling," Kyle said. "Wait, what?"

It was a testament to their relationship that Jan didn't answer. Instead, she looked at the tank herself. "Should we warn Cracken?"

"Warn him about what? That I have a bad feeling?"

"That you're a half-trained Jedi and that your bad feelings are always right?"

"We need to find out what happened, Jan. Ground's the only way to do that. But I want you in armor and armed to the teeth."

"All right." When Kyle spoke like that—a distant earnestness—she learned to listen.

On the surface the expedition force looked very inspiring. Airen Cracken's Juggernaught tank was so large that Kyle did not even reach above the ground-side tread, much less the wheel itself. It required a turbolift to get people into it.

Evidently the general had done his homework on Jabiim. Those massive wheels plowed through the muddy fields surrounding the Yavin with little difficulty. The troops, unfortunately, had a hard time. Eventually they formed two columns and followed the compacted tracks of the tank out of the field and into the city proper.

Cracken landed on the opposite side of the city from the space port with the intent to sweep through the city for any survivors, before doing the recon of the port itself for intel regarding how Project Talisman was being delivered.

On the surface, that too seemed like a good idea. Except for the nagging feeling Kyle had. It was the same exact feeling he had before Talay, only now he had enough training to recognize it as a Force premonition.

Everyone was in stormtrooper armor, but Kyle's people wore green scout trooper armor to help them coordinate their own command better.

One they reached the outskirts of the city, just over a rise from the field where they landed, the expedition force sped up to a brisk jog.

The horror started almost immediately when Team 28 reported injured civilians approaching. A moment later, all the teams heard screaming, and then silence. On the Juggernaut, the team controller reported that Team 28 lifesigns were flat.

Kyle activated his comlink. "All teams, listen up. This is Katarn. The rakghoul plague spreads through almost any contact. If a civilian appears to be injured in any way, there is a good chance they are infected. Do not let them enter your secure area. If you see any black fluid around their faces, shoot to kill. If their mouths are bigger than your head, shoot to kill!"

His signal was interrupted by screams from Team 13. Every trooper there could hear bestial growls through the link.

"Damn it, this isn't working," Kyle muttered. "All teams, form up around the tank, on the double!"

His own teams started to respond. His HUD flashed red again as team 41 flashed out so fast they did not even have time to scream. Thirty soldiers were dead in the first two minutes. Other teams appeared from side streets, running until they saw the juggernaut, and then visibly relaxing.

The street seemed narrower for some reason as they came into a district with taller buildings. There was no sign of combat on the buildings, but the streets were littered with debris and bodies. "We're heading toward the spaceport," Kyle told everyone. "We're looking for data on how the plague was introduced to the populace. This is no longer a rescue mission. Team captains, click acknowledgement."

The acknowledgments came through quickly—no one wanted to stay on the nightmare world any longer than necessary. They made it nor more than five clicks from the Yavin perimeter when every soldier heard a loud thud. All eyes turned and saw with horror a monster standing atop the tank.

"Mobile command you have a target on your hull. Seal up all hatches now!" Kyle shouted.

It was too late. Through luck or lingering malignant intelligence, the rakghoul managed to pry open a hatch in the back troop area. When the hatch was open, all hell exploded over them.

The sounds of animal rage filled the streets as rakghouls came pouring out of every street, and jumping from all the rooftops. The first rakghoul on the tank was blown off by its point defense guns, but twenty more quickly followed and poured inside to the hundred troopers who were essentially trapped inside a giant, rolling tin can. More followed the initial twenty, soon flooding the huge tank.

"Oh Force," Kyle breathed, feeling the soldiers die in the Force. "That's it, pull back to base on me. Defensive lines, fire on everything that moves!"

Even as he issued the order, though, Kyle realized it was too late. His SpecForce team responded, forming up around him in a circle that covered all angles, and immediately started firing. But the regular army teams were panicking; those that were not killed in the initial rush, anyway.

"Running is good!" Jan said.

Kyle scanned his HUD. "Team ten, get over here! Ten twelve, now! All team members, collapse on me. We're leaving!"

Some of the teams closest to the juggernaut survived the initial rush of rakghouls and now ran for all they were worth. At first the monsters lingered over the fallen soldiers, feeding. But there were so many of the beasts that many followed.

Kyle and his people fired away, killing dozens of creatures while hundred more followed. The straggling soldiers fell, their expressions of terror hidden behind their cold storm trooper helmets. But their screams were all too loud.

More and more rakghouls came out of the surrounding buildings, loping like deformed caricatures of normal animals. "Back perimeter, arm and drop your detonators!" Kyle ordered.

The twenty SpecForce members making up the back line did as they instructed. They didn't throw the detonators, they simply armed them and ran. The rakghouls were so close that by the time the detonators exploded ten seconds later, it caught the first wave.

It slowed the others down not out of concern, but because those not hurt fed on those that were. But there were still so many, numbering in the thousands now, that it was only a second's respite.

"How far?" Kyle asked.

"One more klick," Jan said. "We should reach the top of the hill in a minute." She, like the rest, was panting in a combination of physical stress and mental terror. But still she kept her voice even.

Blaster fire rang out almost continuously now, cutting the beasts down but not in sufficient numbers to stop them. Their only hope was to make to the secure perimeter.

They cleared crest of the hill leading down to the Yavin.

The clearing was filled with rakghouls. Thousands of rakghouls. And the perimeter field was simply gone.

"Oh poodoo," Jan muttered.

"Break left, break left!" Kyle screamed. He turned and ran for all he was worth along the edge of the hill. The mud grew thinner as exposed rock rose under their feet. The rising rock also led to the hill becoming steeper and steeper, until it formed a cliff just to their right. Additional cover.

Now able to concentrate just on three sides, Kyle collapsed his people further and continued moving and fighting along the cliff's edge. In the distance, the air thundered with the sound of hungry monsters.

"Kyle, I don't think we're going to get out of this," Jan said. The terror was there again, a primordial fear that he could not fault at all. He was terrified as well. But hearing that tone in her voice made him mad. More than made. It made him furious.

"We are going to make it!" he declared. "We are. All of you, we are going to get through this. Even if we have to kill ever damned beast on this planet. Don't any of you dare give up on me!"

The sun was growing dim as it approached a cloud-heavy horizon. He did not want to be caught out in the dark.

The fight continued non-stop. Exhaustion pulled at their legs as they trudged through the mud. The mud slowed the rakghouls down as well, but not enough. The only thing that stopped them was bodies—many paused to eat their own kind. And bodies Kyle delivered, he and his people. He tried not to think about the glimmer of white armor that was left behind with each step, or the occasionally more somber green armor of one of his SpecForce men.

They continued to move, sticking to the cliff as they circumnavigated the city. In Kyle's mind, the spaceport became their only hope. Whether it was the Force or just his imagination, he held out the space port as a place of possible refuge.

Men continued to die, screaming as they felt. Kyle witnessed two actually shoot themselves when they realized they did not have the energy to keep going. He did not blame them—a quick death was a mercy.

"Kyle, a mining sled!" Jan pointed out.

He glanced away from the lines long enough to see her pointing at a large hover vehicle mired in the mud. The vehicle was designed to transport mineral ore from the mine to the processing plant on the edge of town. It was easily large enough to hold several hundred.

"Listen up, I need everyone for form against the sled there!" Kyle said. "Hold the line no matter the cost!"

Jan was already scrambling up the side of the crazily tilted sled into the control cabin. He watched her, and when he felt a stir of warning, launched himself into the air with all the Force-borne power he could. He felt up onto the cabin where Jan was working frantically to get the vehicle active, and slashed out with his lightsaber just as a rakghoul climbed up the opposite end.

Below him, more rakghouls gathered to climb over the far side of the sled.

"I got it!" Jan roared.

It took all Kyle's training and agility to stay on his feet as the sled suddenly righted itself in the mood. "Everyone up the ladders now!" Kyle screamed. He threw the last of his detonators into the lines of rakghouls and bought his men a few precious minutes. It was not enough for all—he saw at least thirty regulars and ten of his SpecForce people fall before the rakghouls.

It was too late for them. "Jan, got!" Kyle shouted.

The sled surged forward, knowing the clinging rakghouls loose and almost throwing the soldiers from the bed.

In seconds, the sled was flying over the muddy plain faster than any rakghoul could go. Kyle took a moment to survey his men. Some of the veterans were already passed out, catching what rest they could. A few were shaking from the horror of it. All were covered in mud, blood and worse.

But they were alive.

He slipped into the control cabin. "You see the light?"

"Yep," she said. Her voice dripped exhaustion, just like the others.

"Jan?"

"Yeah?"

"When we get out of this, I want to buy you dinner. Not a working dinner, either. I'd like you to wear a nice dress, I'll wear this silly uniform, and I would like to treat you like the lady you are. Okay?"

"Sounds nice, Kyle," Jan said, smiling sadly. He could see in her eyes that she did not think they were going to get out.

He made sure the course for the sled was set, removed his muddy helmet, gently removed hers, and then kissed her. He kissed her like he'd been wanting to kiss her since AX-456. "We're going to make it," he said intensely, "because I want to see you in a nice dress. And then I want to see you out of it."

"A bit forward, aren't you?" she asked, teasing despite everything.

"For you, yes."

She gave one dry sob, then nodded resolutely. "If we get out of this, Kyle Katarn, I will frak you till you're blue."

He grinned and couldn't help the surge of adrenaline he felt. "Well hell Jan, now we're sure to get out of this."

He kissed her one more time, slipped her helmet on, and then did the same.

They reached the tower in no time, and saw why the lights had survived—apparently the tower next to the spaceport had its own independent power source, and was heavily armored around the base with only one heavily sealed entry point. The primary point of entry appeared to have been a skywalk that now laid in tatters across the open space between the tower and the spaceport dome.

"How much lift does this baby have?" Kyle asked.

"Enough," Jan said with a grin.

With that, Kyle slipped out the window to the bed of the sled. "Everyone up!"

With varying levels of energy, the survivors got up. "I need an injury report now. Look at the man beside you and check his armor for any punctures or injuries. Do so now."

Of the two hundred survivors, only one man, a regular army trooper, bore any open wounds. Kyle walked across the sled to the man and as he did so, he could feel the black twisting in the Force around him.

"What's your name, son?" he said.

"Corporal Tennison, Sir!" the young man said in an exhausted, pained voice.

"Corporal, you've got the plague," Kyle said. "From what I saw on Talay, it's going to hurt like hell, and then you're going to turn into a monster and we're going to grease you. I'm sorry to get you the bad news, kid. I really am. Do you have any family?"

"Family all died on Toprawa, sir!"

"I was on Toprawa, it was a bad situation," Kyle agreed. "Anyone you want me to get your effects to?"

The young man was crying now. "No, sir. Just, don't let me turn into one of those things."

"I won't, son." Kyle lifted his blaster and shot Corporal Tennison through the face-plate at point blank range. The young man's body flew off the sled and slammed into the mud, bouncing twice.

"We're almost to shelter. I don't know for sure what's waiting for us, but I saw lights, so we have hope. The Alliance knows we're here and will no doubt send someone to find out what's going on. We just need to stay alive. But I'll tell you this—I just shot a young man who was on our side to save us all. If you have a bite or a scratch from one of those things, then do us a favor and kill yourself now. Because I'm not sure I can do that again. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" came the thunderous response of the survivors.

The sled began to slow as they approached the tower. The vehicle slowly rose into the air as it coasted on momentum, until the bed became nearly even with the shattered base of the skywalk.

Kyle was about to jump through when a very large man in which armor appeared with a portable e-web. His helmet was off, revealing the aging face of a Clone trooper. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"We're what's left of a rescue mission," Kyle said. "Things went a little FUBAR."

"No room for you," the trooper said. "Go away."

"Can't do that," Kyle said. "More ships will come, we just need some time to rest."

"I'm not going to risk my people for more imps. Get out."

A distance behind the trooper, Kyle saw a woman in native green fabric clutching a child. The woman was pale and delicate in appearance, but the child was strangely swarthy, much like the trooper.

The man was a deserter.

"My name is Colonel Kyle Katarn of the Alliance to Restore the Republic," he said. "I was part of an expedition to see why we lost contact with the Jebiim rebel leadership. We found out the hard way. We're not here to hurt you or your people."

"The rebels are all dead," the trooper said. "Only ones left on this mudhole are civvies. No one wants your war."

"Not here to fight," Kyle said. "Just let us rest until our own rescue comes."

The trooper spat in the space between the sled and skywalk base. "No one's coming to rescue us. General Moc ordered the evacuation himself. They did this to us."

"I know," Kyle said. "They did the same thing to a base of ours. Come on, friend. I'm not your enemy. I just need a place for my men and I to billet until the Alliance comes. Please don't make this a fight."

In the distance, they could hear a rakghoul howling. Thousands more responded, and the sound was getting closer.

That's when Jan climbed out of the control cabin, her helmet in her hands, and walked to Kyle's side. The trooper must have seen something in the pair; he finally raised the heavy e-web to the sky. "Fine, come on through. But you're going to have to ditch that sled away from here."

"I've programmed it to go on its own in five minutes," Jan said.

"Five minutes to evac to the tower!" Kyle said. "Everyone, move move move!"

As exhausted as they were, it only two minutes to get all two hundred men in the tower. Three minutes later the sled moved forward just as the first line of rakghouls arrived. They tried scaling the tower, but the metal base was stronger than their claws and they could find no purchase.

"Welcome to hell," the trooper said. "Names Deek."


	38. Bonus DLOL Chaps 21 thru 25

**Chapter Twenty-One: Dawn of the Rakghouls**

"Fleet, this is Commander Luke Skywalker reporting in as ordered," Luke said.

He was pleased to hear Han Solo's voice. "Luke, you're late. What's happening?"

"We detoured to Felucia at the Admiral's direction, Colonel."

"Felucia?" Colonel Solo said. "What in the stars did he find on Felucia?"

"Well, Colonel…"

"Han, kid. It's just me pulling duty this time since Hobbie was sick."

"Well, Han, Harry…I mean, Shaddix found another wife. Actually, make that two. Two new wives. Captain Juno Eclipse and a former padawan named Maris Brood. And…well, now he remembers who he used to be."

"Oh, and who's that?"

"I can't say over an open line. And I don't think you'd believe me if I told you. I also recovered Jedi Master Yoda. We're en route to the new sanctuary base."

"Yeah, 'bout that. Listen, kid, we've lost an entire ground taskforce on some mud hole called Jabiim. We had two frigates there, a thousand troopers and an old tank, and we've lost all contact with not just the taskforce, but the planet itself. We've got three simultaneous engagements in Kashyyyk, Mon Calamari and now on Kaaandas. We don't have the resources to go find out what's happening. General Rieekan requests that Admiral Shaddix take a look and see what's going on. That is, if he's not too busy with his two billion wives."

"I'll check," Luke said, chuckling.

"Oh, Luke, one more thing. When you get back, you're going to have a lot of company in the Jedi business. A whole family showed up—two former padawans and a daughter they've been training. Baroli—the girl has blue hair. Very cute. You should look her up unless you and Danni the Veltron finally got something going."

Luke blushed. "I'll see when we get back," he stammered.

"Yeah. 'Cause, you know, I'm not sure Danni's right for you."

Luke didn't need the Force to know what that meant. "You've slept with her."

"You know, I'm not sure sleep is the right word. Don't get me wrong—she's Veltron. She'd still do you in a minute just for the emotional high it gives her. You know how Veltron get when they make others feel good. But I'm pretty sure you're looking for more than a girl who gets high on sex."

"Yeah, maybe. What about you?"

"Are you kidding? Guys like me live for girls who get high on sex. Anyway, check on Jabiim and let Rieekan know what you find, okay?"

"I will, Han. Talk to you soon."

"General came in with a whole battle group," Deek said an hour after Kyle, Jan and their men found sanctuary in the tower. He, Kyle, Jan and Captain Myers from Kyle's SpecForce squad gathered around a table in what was once an officer's restaurant atop the tower. Around the floor, terrified Jabiimi families clumped together while exhausted soldiers ate rations and stared at the ceiling from where they collapsed on the floor.

"I was on duty when the evac order came from the _Arc Hammer_. All personnel were to evacuate pending an experimental weapons deployment. Moc said Jabiim was chosen as a test bed because of the diminishing returns from the mines and the increased violence from the rebels. So they all went."

"All but you."

"I found a woman here that didn't care that I shared my face with millions of others," the clone said. "Gave me a son. Couldn't just walk away from that. So I gathered them together in the emergency shelter under this tower. Her family and friends followed, but I didn't care. I was afraid it wouldn't matter. I saw on the holonet what happened to Alderaan. But it wasn't like this. When the boom didn't come, I walked up to the top of the tower and looked what was happening."

He snorted. "The local rebels were swarming the spaceport. Thinking they'd run the imps off. Stupid. The shuttle opens up and four big, black droid destroyers walked out almost like they were storm troopers, and just laid into the rebels. Another pair brought out a long case. Looked almost like a stasis chamber, like the Kaminoans used on us clones during the war. One trooper opened the case; the other stuck a stun rod or something into it, and next thing you know the rebels are turning into rakghouls. The dark troopers fought the rakghouls off just like the rebels, loaded the case back in the shuttle, and then left. And things just went to hell from there."

It was the best description yet of Project Talisman Kyle had ever heard. More importantly, though, they had a name associated with it. "Funny thing about General Moc," Kyle said. "He gave me the Imperial Medal of Honor when I was a cadet."

"How'd you get a medal like that as a cadet?"

"My omega exercise went down the well. I pulled half my people out of what should have killed us all, killed a lot of rebels. Then I found out from Lord Shaddix himself the Empire killed my dad, and none of it seemed to make sense."

Deek shrugged. "That's what the Empire does."

Kyle almost dropped his helmet when the speaker beeped at him. "Attention, this is the Alliance vessel _Rogue Shadow_ to any survivors on Jabiim," came a familiar contralto voice. "If you can hear me, please respond."

"I can hear you," Kyle said with a sigh of relief. "Princess, that you?"

"It's me, Kyle. What's your status?"

"Not good," Kyle said. "I have about two hundred men left, and just under three hundred civilians. We're trapped in a tower in the north-east quadrant of the city near the space port. Unfortunately, there is no hoverpad and the base is armored. The civvies got in through a cross-walk which they blew right after. My people and I got up on a make-shift bridge I had to blow again as well."

"What's the tower look like?" Leia asked.

"Easy. It's the one surrounded by ten thousand rakghouls."

"Hang in there," Leia said. "We're coming."

Kyle stood. "Deek, you wanna see why the Empire's going to lose this war?"

"Sure," the clone said.

The two men, Jan and Myers walked to the windows that looked out into the night. Others, seeing their attention focused outside, did the same. A moment later they saw a deadly black ship fly into view. It hovered over the writhing mass of rakghouls.

The hatch on the side of the ship opened, and a lone figure stepped out into the air.

"Who the hell is that?" Deek asked.

"That, my friend, is Lord Shaddix," Kyle said. "He's the reason we destroyed the Death Star and cost the Empire so much at Yavin."

Around the hovering figure, the air began to waiver, as if it were being heated. Suddenly a spark of flame appeared out of midair, dancing before the figure. The flame grew larger and larger, flickering in the rain as it seemed almost to writhe around the man.

Suddenly the man made a sharp motion and the flame became a pillar of white heat that slammed down into the horde of rakghouls. Deek and the others watched as the flame spread out across the whole area, flowing like plasma into every nook and cranny.

A moment later, the rakghouls were gone. Every single one was simply gone.

Outside, the figure floated up out of view, though a few moments later they could hear a strange grinding noise.

"The roof!" Deek said. He led the way up a narrow flight of access stairs and kicked open a secured lock just in time to see the silver ship landing on a hoverpad that just moments before had not been there.

The figure from the fire was already walking toward them. "Kyle," he said by way of greeting, "how do you keep getting yourselves into these situations?"

"It's a gift. Is that an admiral's uniform?"

"Is that a colonel's uniform?" Shaddix snapped back. His eyes narrowed at Deek. "Who's the clone?"

"Deserter. Decided his wife and child were more important than his own life. He's given us the best leads we have on Project Talisman."

Shaddix nodded, and then walked to the edge of the roof as the _Rogue Shadow_ landed. Kyle followed, drawn by the presence the man projected. "You seem different," Kyle said.

"A lot's happened since we last spoke," Shaddix said. "My real name is Harry Potter. Shaddix was a creation of Palpatine's sick imagination. I remember everything, Kyle. More than you can imagine. And in all of those thousands of years, I've never felt anything like this." He made a vague motion toward the planet.

Kyle, though, was trying to wrap his mind around the _thousands of years_ part. "Sir…"

"Harry, please."

"Harry, what do you mean?"

Harry turned back and smiled at the Force-strong warrior. "I'm what your people would call a Celestial, Kyle. Palpatine revived me and then made sure I never recovered my memories. But now I have. And those memories are telling me that the evil that struck this planet is darker than any I've ever imagined. It's corrupted soul magic. Whatever did this was so powerful that it warped the very souls of the population into the monsters we see. Once the soul perversion was introduced, it became a virulent plague and spread with each scratch or bite. It is evil."

He took a long, shuddering breath, then turned and looked back at those assembled on the roof. "How many do you have?"

"'Bout four hundred all told, half are civilians."

"The _Rogue Shadow_ won't hold that many and if I modify it to hold them without serious preparation, it will break down."

"What about the _Teelin?"_ Kyle asked.

"She wasn't in orbit when we arrived. It's possible that she entered the atmosphere if Cracken's people called for help. _Nebulon-B_s are notoriously cranky in the atmosphere, and that particular ship was forty years old. It might very well have crashed. The Alliance has not heard from it."

"So what do we do?"

"We need to retake the _Yavin_," Harry said. "The Alliance can't afford to just throw an asset like that away regardless.

Kyle made a point of looking down the side of the building at the blackened mud. "How'd you do that?"

"Magic."

"Think you can do it again?"

"In localized areas," Harry said. "I'm not at my full strength just yet, but almost. We saw the _Yavin_ as we flew by. Do you have anyone certified to fly her?"

Jan Ors stepped up. "I can fly anything. Kyle's rated too. We have maybe a dozen others who could fill out a bridge crew if the ship isn't too damaged. But how are we going to clear it out?"

"I'll take care of it," Harry said. "Pack up whoever you need to crew the ship into the _Shadow._" Harry turned to the Clone. "What's your name, trooper?"

"Deeks."

"Deeks, I'm leaving you in charge of everything until we get back with our frigate. Then we'll load your people up and get you out of here. Probably to Dantooine for now. Sound fair?"

"Yes, sir!" Deeks said with a stiff salute.

"All right. Kyle, get your people."

Harry walked back into the _Rogue Shadow_, and a few minutes later Kyle and a dozen exhausted SpecForce troopers joined Jan on the ship as well.

In the cockpit, Juno easily lifted off and took the ship over the field where the _Yavin_ still rested. The field was crawling with tens of thousands of rakghouls. Harry walked through the now crowded lounge to find Kyle and Jan mercilessly questioning their men to make sure they could do the job. All of them paused as Harry entered, walked to the central ramp, and then casually walked down the ramp over the writhing field of monsters.

Kyle cautiously joined him. "That's a lot of beasties," Kyle said. "You sure you're up for this?"

Harry shrugged. "It's what I do."

With that, Harry jumped from the ramp into the dark field. The only light came from the ship, until a moment later when a ring of fire appeared around Harry. It lit the monsters in terrible clarity, moments before it started burning them.

He felt Jan approaching from behind and smiled weakly as she took his hand and looked down. "By the Force, how can he do that?"

"You should have seen him on Dagobah," Luke said from behind them. "He made couches out of thin air. He made the rain stop with a glance. He remembers freeing Yoda's ancestors from slavery a million years ago. When I look at him, I can't help but believe we're going to win."

Below, the fire raged around in a broad circle that swept the rakghouls from the field. A blue ball of light suddenly shot up before them in the shape of a antlered animal. An animal which said, in Harry's voice, "Have Juno bring the _Shadow_ into the _Yavin's_ hold."

The silvery figure faded away.

Luke relayed the order and the _Rogue_ drifted lazily into the massive hold of the frigate. Harry was already there waiting for them. They stepped down the ramp to the smell of sulphur. The floor of the hangar was blackened but otherwise clean.

"Cracken at least had the presence of mind to lock down the ship," Harry explained. "I don't sense any more of the rakghouls on board. There are more coming toward us, though. They don't see well, but the light of the _fiendfyre_ was enough to attract their attention. Juno, Luke and Mara, could you help Kyle's people get the ship in the air? We'll swing by the tower to pick up survivors and then we'll do a fly by to see if anyone else is hiding. I sense some other survivors—perhaps in the mines."

With the ship locked down before everything went wrong, they were able to get to the bridge without difficulty and quickly closed the main loading ramp. With the dozen SpecForce commandoes and a handful of truly skilled pilots, the _Yavin_ lifted out of the mud of Jabiim just as another wave of raghouls cleared the crest.

The ship drifted slowly over the dead city until they reached the lone lit tower. They dropped a secondary ramp to the hoverpad while the new bridge crew kept the ship perfectly still. The four hundred survivors quickly boarded the frigate.

At Harry's direction, the ship left the city entirely and drifted to a set of high, stark mountains. It took coaxing from Deek and his native wife to convince the rebel miners that it was not a good idea to try and wait out the plague. Another hundred and ten men, women and children boarded the ship.

They did an atmospheric fly-by of the ten other major urban areas and found that the plague had spread rapidly. After one more pocket of a dozen survivors, Harry declared there was nothing else they could do. The _Yavin_ sealed up its ramps and made orbit.

The trip to Dantooine did not take more than a day—a day spent in stunned silence. The survivors of Jabiim looked as if they had not truly survived. Their eyes were dead, killed by the horrors of watching loved ones and friends turn into monsters, or die at the hands of monsters.

It was a somber ship that arrived at Dantooine.

Harry spoke to the planetary administrator, since the Empire did not bother to keep a presence on the small, agricultural world. The administrator took one look at the survivors and agreed to help them.

Harry did his part by donating to the colonel two thirds of the ship's provisions, and several blaster rifles so that the new colonists could better defend themselves against the local predators. He even donated the quick set shelters that Cracken would have used for his own men if he had survived.

"Thank you, Admiral," Deeks said as the new colony was finally set up.

Harry shook the man's hand. "Best of luck on your family, Deeks. I hope your kids never have to see anything like this again."

"Thank you, sir. And I hope you get whoever's doing this."

"Oh, don't worry, we will."

With that, the _Yavin_ lifted off from the surface. Harry made his way back to the bridge where he found all four of his wives, Luke, Kyle, Jan, and even Yoda. He joined them as they broke orbit and made their way to the new sanctuary base.

"So, any thoughts of what you're going to say to your dad?" Mara was asking Leia. "Now that you're one of four instead of one of two?"

"Speak to Bail I will," Yoda said. "Explain to him. Understand he will."

The group fell silent for a moment as the _Yavin_ burst into hyperspace. When they had settled into the swirling blue tunnel of faster-than-light travel, Harry said, "Kyle, you and Jan need to hunt this thing down. I'm going to contact Vernan and make sure you have everything you need. I'm also going to pull three of my heavy assault cruisers for your exclusive use."

"Harry, that's a lot of resources," Leia began.

Harry looked at her a moment before she blinked and said, "It's that dangerous, isn't it?"

"It is a threat worse than any Death Star," he said. "The Death Star is a physical weapon. It kills you. It kills your world. It can be destroyed and stopped or avoided. This Talisman weapon cannot be stopped. It cannot be blocked. Not even I can block what happened. Only the Force strong are afforded any protection, and even then it can be overcome. It destroys souls. We must find it, and when we do, you need to call me, and I will come destroy it."

"Why not find it yourself, if you're so powerful?" Kyle said.

Harry looked at him. "The Emperor knows I've come into my power. He can feel it. He can feel me anywhere in the galaxy, just like Yoda could. He'll know if I start approaching the target and that will give them time to get away. But while you're searching for the Talisman, I'm going to be doing my own preparations." He turned to Juno. "We're going to remake this ship, Juno. If you permit. We're going to make it into a Mage ship. And when the time comes, the Empire won't have time to get the Talisman away."

"I understand," Juno said with a somber nod. "Whatever you need, we'll help you with."

"And we'll hunt this thing down," Kyle swore.

Harry nodded, and then looked at Kyle and Jan. "But I think you two have something to take care of first."

"What do you mean?" Kyle said, with a blush.

"I can see your bond," he said. "Jan, do you love him?"

Jan blinked in surprise and felt the eyes of all their SpecForce bridge crew on her. After a moment, though, she raised her chin defiantly and said, "Yes."

"Kyle, do you love her?"

"Yes."

"Then by the power vested in me by right of having once been a god of love and bonds; by the power of the Force; and finally because I said so, you are now man and wife. I'll file the certificate, and I'll make damned sure Vernan and the rest of the command staff know you are not to be separated in your duties. You're the best team I've seen, and now you'll serve together for the rest of your lives."

"Just like that?" Kyle said.

"Just like that," Harry said.

"Good enough for me!" Jan declared. She grabbed Kyle's hand and dragged him off the bridge to the loud, raucous applause of their men.

* * *

**Part Three: Dark Forces in Pretty Faces**

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Fast Times at Hoth Base**

Leia woke up one morning four months after Jabiim surrounded on either side by breasts. On her left she saw a pair of voluptuous breasts of almost bone-pale skin topped with purple nipples. Looking above the breasts she saw a delicate red horn had punctured the pillow. Again.

She turned to the smaller but well shaped pair of pert breasts on her other side and saw a flash of red hair. Mara, then. She looked down at her own breasts and decided that, compared to the women on either side of her, she left something to be desired. Her breasts were neither as shapely as Mara's nor as large as Maris's. Juno's were a good normal size, but were also very shapely, pert, and most importantly, even. It shamed the princess to admit that her breasts were not evenly shaped. Her right breast was slightly, but noticeably larger, than her left.

Without a doubt, of the four wives, she had the worst looking pair of breasts.

She tried not to squeal when a strong hand reached over Mara's hip and very succinctly cupped her naked sex. She looked up over the thatch of red hair and saw Harry smiling at her. "You are beautiful," he assured her quietly after sensing her thoughts. He ran his hand slowly up her body until they cupped her left breast nearest him. "You are beautiful just the way you are."

"You say that to all the girls," Leia said.

"And it's all true," he agreed.

A head of blonde hair lifted above Harry's shoulders, and then moaned. "It's too cold to get up."

"It's not that cold," Mara mumbled without moving.

"So you want to shower first then?" Juno snapped.

"It's still a little cold," Mara conceded.

Juno nodded in triumph, and then curled up closer to Harry. Harry squirmed until he was on his back and spread his arms until he was essentially hugging all four of them. "I'm hungry," Maris said.

"Go get something then," Juno suggested.

"Too cold," Maris said. She shivered and then snuggled closer to Leia.

"Watch the horns," Leia warned.

"Sorry." She snuggled even closer.

At first Leia was not sure what to make of sleeping with three other women in the nude. Though she knew that some human females liked other females in a sexual fashion, she was not one of them. She realized she was too competitive to really find another woman sexually attractive. On the opposite side of that was Maris Brood, who because of her personal history was so starved for affection growing up that she would love anyone of the family, in any way, at any time. It took months for Leia to grow accustomed to being hugged by a naked, paled-skinned woman with horns.

And she still felt vague discomfort any time she felt the harsh hair of Maris's sex against her.

Mara was also willing to experiment with the others, but usually all she thought of was Harry. Leia was astounded at how energetic the former Sith was. Chances were, if they were alone and one of the other wives was not already doing so, Mara and Harry were shagging: in the fresher; in the closet; on the bed.

Once on the ceiling. That was strange. One time on a bet with Juno, Mara and Harry had sex non-stop for three days, pausing only for food, drink and occasionally showers. And even though they were excused to shower, they coupled there too. Leia would have been insanely jealous, until he offered to do the same with her.

"I have too much to do," she assured him. So she only took a day.

It was a good day.

Juno was the surprising one to Leia. Shortly after the Rebellion moved its main headquarters to Hoth, she walked into their large suite to find Juno and Maris very happily loving each other. Leia's first thought wasn't surprise, but rather confusion over what they actually got out of it. How could they have sex without a penis involved? And yet the two women were obviously enjoying each other and she could feel their pleasure through their bonds.

Juno looked up from between the Zabrak's legs and grinned. "Want to join us?" she asked.

Leia stammered. "Oh, no thank you. Do you where Harry is?"

"With Mara working on the _Shadow_."

"Oh, okay."

That night after dinner Juno convinced Leia to take a walk with her around the base. The two women usually garnered a lot of attention. The fact a living Celestial was on the base was startling enough, but that he had four wives drove the rumor mongers insane.

"Today made you uncomfortable, didn't it?" Juno asked.

Leia shook her head, realizing she was distracting herself. "I…I suppose it did. I'm sorry. I have no right to judge you…"

"I never thought you were," Juno said with a sad smile. "Frankly I've never had any relationships like this before. Sure, the girls at the Academy experimented. The Empire kept us strictly segregated from the male cadets. But I never took it seriously."

"But then you married Harry?"

Juno shrugged. "You of all people should understand, Leia. After Galen, I thought I would never love again. And then I went to Yoda to become a Jedi, and he would tell me stories of this incredible man who needed love to survive. And he turned out to be everything I could have ever dreamed. I could have resisted, I suppose, but I just didn't want to. I guess from an outsider's perspective it sounds awful. Still, this situation is ideal in a way. I've found a lover in Maris. And while we get all the Harry time we want, with each other we leave more time for you and Mara. Because Mara's willing to do anything with anyone when she's randy, but we all know she prefers Harry."

"That's true," Leia admitted with a wry smile. "I may have to put a leash on Mara, though. Gods that girl just won't leave him alone."

Juno smiled and put an arm around Leia. "She was raised without any physical affection, the same as Maris. For some people, that leads to a fear of touching. For others, it leads to a need for it. And I don't know if you've noticed, but Harry is for each of us exactly what we need."

Leia noticed that Harry tended to instruct or even lead Maris, while he quizzed Juno and Leia. Mara just went along with whatever the rest of the wives decided, quite often with Harry's penis inside her.

_I need to stop thinking about Harry's penis_, Leia brought her thoughts brought her back to the present. She thought this as Harry very deftly reached over Mara and suckled her breast.

"I really need to stop thinking about your penis," Leia moaned aloud.

"If you don't want it I do," Mara said.

But Harry somehow floated right over Mara, who had rolled onto her stomach, until he laid on Leia, slipping inside her even as his lips moved to her neck.

"That's so beautiful," Maris breathed.

Leia's breath caught as the now blessedly familiar warmth and pleasure blossomed inside of her. She shifted and spread her legs wider to ease his access, no longer caring that her knee was caught firmly between Maris's legs. "That feels so good," she moaned.

"It always does," Mara whispered. She was watching them with hungry eyes, her hand running up and down Harry's spine. "Me next?"

"Yes," Harry grunted as he sped up. He and Leia finished with a mutual moan before he moved over to make love to Mara, who remained face down and simply lifted her rump for him. Leia lay perfectly still beside them, basking in the glow, until she felt a pair of lips on her other breast and looked down to see a red horn near her chin, and two purple lips suckling her.

"Watch the horns," she said.

"Sorry," Maris said around a handful of nipple.

Leia hated to admit it, but the suckling did feel good, and the way Maris had captured and was now rubbing against her leg did not feel _bad_, not really.

"We'll make a woman out of you yet, Leia," Juno said over Harry as Mara began to moan loudly. That was the other thing about Mara. She was very loud.

They did not all make love as a group every morning, but it was always interesting when they did, because they each made love differently. Leia liked it slow and steady. Mara liked frenzy and passion, like now. The whole bed was shaking and she was almost screaming now in ecstasy and pulling at the covers convulsively until they finally finished.

Mara wilted, flushed as red as her hair with a huge, goofy grin on her face. By then Harry had moved on. "Doing the full circuit, are we?" Juno asked with one elegantly arched brow. She flipped him over and rode him, preferring always to be on top.

Maris looked up from Leia's nipple, saw the gorgeous form Juno presented as she began to ride Harry, and moaned. "Go ahead," Leia said with a knowing smile.

Maris almost jumped over she and Mara until she was sitting on…oh goodness. Leia shook her head, but each to their own.

Mara, now laying next to them, grinned. "Don't knock it until you try it," she told Leia. "He has talent."

"Oh, I know."

At last Juno finished, grunting as her entire body convulsed under an orgasm so intense all the other wives felt it. She fell back off Harry as Maris took her place, even as the Zabrak leaned over to give Juno a second while accepting her first.

"Bail would never understand this," Leia whispered.

Mara agreed. "And yet it's the most beautiful thing I've ever known. Because I love you all. You're my family."

Maris cried out, loudly. Juno did as well, convulsing again. Harry finished by kissing each of his wives passionately. "So," he said with a happy grin, "who wants to go get breakfast?"

"It's too cold to get up!" all four wives shouted.

Harry snorted. "Fine. You just had sex with me so I would get you food, didn't you?"

"Did it work?" Juno said, still breathless from his and Maris's ministrations.

He chuckled. "It usually does. I'll be back in a bit. Don't get too comfy without me." He hopped off the bed and padded naked through the otherwise icy room to the insulated fresher. Juno and Maris jumped back under the covers and all four snuggled together, made cold by Harry's absence.

"So Leia," Juno said. "Not so bad having a woman's lips on you, is it?"

"It's not bad, but it's not Harry either," Leia said.

"Any love is good love," Maris said. The oldest of them all was smiling with an open, almost innocent look of joy on her face.

Her horns had poked another hole in their long pillow. Fortunately, Harry conjured a new one every night. Maris then sat up, disturbing the comforter as she looked at each of the other three women. Her eyes grew moist as she said, "I love you all so much! I never had a family before. And now I have all of you. Thank you!"

"We love you too, Maris," Mara said. "Now shut up and get back down here. It's cold!"

Rather than be hurt by Mara's grouchy response to Maris's declaration of love, which actually occurred every two to three days, Maris merely laughed at the intensity of the emotion she felt, laid back down and pulled the comforter up. She then kissed Mara soundly on the lips. The red head just shrugged it off, neither offended nor enticed by it having just been satiated.

Leia, though, propped herself up a little while staying under the cover, and looked them over as well. "Maris says it all the time, but I feel that way too. After Alderaan, I wondered if I would ever feel like I belong to a family again. Even with my father here, it's been strange. But with you girls…I do love you. You are my sisters. Thank you for letting me be a part of this."

The other three looked at her for the longest time, before they all snuggled together. Harry emerged from the fresher dressed in casual slacks that seemed not nearly warm enough. Their burgeoning magical skills allowed them to sense the charms he used to warm himself.

"You girls look really comfortable. Are you sure you don't want to come with me, though?"

"Harry, how can we miss you if you don't go away?" Juno said.

"Fine, fine," Harry said.

"I want caf, Harry. A full carafe, black," Mara said.

"Me too," Leia said.

"Juice please," Maris asked.

"Caf for me too," Juno said. "And a pastry."

"Ohh, that sounds good!" Maris said.

"Eggs," Mara said. "And toast! And caf."

"And a grain muffin and sesti fruit for you, Leia?" Harry asked.

Leia grinned. Though the sex didn't occur every morning, the food ritual did. He knew what they ate better than they did. "Yes, please."

Harry stood at the door. "Okay. Stay warm. I'll be back with food soon."

When he was gone, Mara giggled. "Frak you girls, I love Harry. He brings me caf."

That set off a round laughter, even as they all snuggled closer together to ward off the cold. It was most definitely too cold to get up.

"I wonder why they always sleep so late?" Luke wondered aloud as he, Obi-Wan and Ylenic It'kla watched Harry saunter into the cafeteria with a happy smile and a whistled song on his lips.

Behind him, Obi-Wan and Ylenic shared a long look before both shaking their head.

That afternoon, Luke continued his training by sparring with the newest member of the growing Jedi Order.

Jekria Lo'gaan was seventeen years old. Her parents, Drake and Ekria Lo'gaan, were both former Padawans that survived the purge and abandoned their Jedi identities to survive. After the public outing of Jedi Masters Yoda, Obi-Wan, and upon Yoda's insistence, newly promoted Jedi Master Ylenic It'kla, former padawans and Jedi knights were appearing as if from nowhere. So far, they had Jedi Knight Qu Rahn, former padawan Olee Starstone, and former padawan Chase Piru and her companion Seddwia.

The biggest surprise was the arrival of an obvious Jedi Master who called herself Lady Caryn, and a young padawan named Ana Tathis. Luke overheard Obi-Wan referring to Caryn as An'ya Ku'ro, but never heard it again.

Ana was busy sparring with the Twi'lek Seddwia, who herself had some Jedi training from Chase Piru.

Which left Luke with Jekria Lo'gaan.

The blue-haired padawan was much faster than Luke was physically, though less powerful as well. Luke adapted by switching to Form V rather than the quicker form IV that Jekria used. So far she had tagged him twice, even though he regularly beat everyone else who had beaten her. The problem was she kept distracting him.

Despite the fact that they were on the icy world of Hoth, Jekria was wearing extremely form-fitting training clothes. So form fitting, he could actually make out the outline of her breasts and the nubs of….

"Stang," he muttered as she tagged him again. "Right, you're just too good for me," he said.

Nearby, Obi-Wan bowed his head into his hand and shook it. Jekria, though, gave a predatory grin. "You better believe it, farm boy," she said. She turned and left the training cavern with a sway to her lips that left Luke a little dizzy.

Nearby, Ana Tathis and Seddwia were both giggling at him.

"Luke, I think that's enough today," Obi-Wan said in a tired, hopeless voice. "Go take a shower. I understand your duty rotation starts in an hour."

"Yes, Master Kenobi," Luke said with a startled bow.

"Very well. And Luke? Make it a cold shower."

Luke was not THAT naïve. "Yes, Master."

The sound of the other padawans giggling followed him out of the room. He shook his head and smiled a little at himself. He supposed it was funny, how thoroughly Jekria was able to distract him.

He found his small quarters and took a quick shower. Though Hoth was cold, it had no shortage of water, and so water showers were easily available. He showered now, enjoying the heat in the small, self-contained fresher unit that was a luxury of his rank.

He finished quickly, still accustomed to very short, water-saving showers from his childhood on a desert world, and emerged from the fresh with a towel around his waist to get dressed.

He stopped just outside and froze as if confront the ghost of Darth Vader himself. "What…what…."

Jekria lounged on his bed, still in her frightfully skin-tight training gear. Except she had zipped the front down to reveal the sides of two beautifully formed round mounds on her chest. "Hello, commander," the seventeen-year-old said. She stood in a fluid motion and stepped toward the floundering Luke.

"Er, what are you doing here?"

Jekria smiled, and again it had a faint predatory quality to it. "I wanted to see more of you," she said. She laid a hand against his bare chest and grinned when he jumped. "And now that I have, I have to say I'm impressed."

"Jekria, your parents…"

"My parents were my age when they conceived me," she said. She paused, and for a brief moment the smile faded. "I've been watching you, Luke. Since the day we arrived I've been watching you. How strong the Force is with you. How generous you are. What a good officer and kind person you are. And I've watched you watch me, and I've come to realize that you are a truly wonderful person."

She kept inching closer, until the fabric of her unitard was pushing against his bare chest. "I don't believe in games, and the war doesn't allow us the time to court. So I tell you right now, Luke, that I want you. No one else, just you. And I think you want me too, don't you?"

Luke found he couldn't speak, so instead he gave a frantic, panicked nod.

The predatory smile turned gentle, with a light in her eyes that Luke could not identify, but which made him feel very warm and slightly dizzy. She deliberately leaned forward and kissed his chest, and the feel of her lips on his chest cost him his breath.

She kissed him again, moving up his chest to his neck, until at last their lips met. She pulled back and smiled again at the brilliant flush on his cheeks. "Take off my clothes, Luke," she suggested.

"Okay."

When Luke did not show up for his duty rotation, Admiral Harry Potter walked into the CAG briefing room to where Han Solo was having to fill in, and simply held out a hand.

"Yeah, fine," Solo said as he handed over a few credit chits. The other pilots, human males and females, two Mon Calamari and a Quarren, all cheered.

Harry grinned. "So who won the betting pool?"

Lieutenant Hobbie growled. "Oh come on!" he said. The other pilots looked at the betting pool, then turned to Harry. The admiral grinned as the squadron very grudgingly handed over the betting pool of credits.

The admiral pocketed it all. "So who was the top contender?"

"Danni, of course," Solo said.

"I thought she was with you?" Harry asked.

Klivian chuckled. "Danni's with pretty much everybody."

"Yeah, she's pretty nice," Daria Felst said. Harry grinned at the female human.

Yes, that was Danni the Veltron. "Who next?"

"That Tathis girl," Klivian said. "She is pretty cute."

"She's as clueless as Luke," Solo said. "I'm not sure she would know what to do with a man if she had one."

"I thought he was homosexual," one of the Mon Cal's said with an elegant shrug.

"That's because you never saw him looking at Jekria," Solo said. "I just didn't think she'd be the one to make the first move."

Harry grinned again. "It might have been pointed out to her by Luke's family that because he was so shy and noble, that he would never get around to doing it himself, no matter how interested he was."

"That's cheating!" Han said.

"Hey, don't look at me. Leia's his sister. She has a right to be concerned. Give him the day off, and I'll put the betting pool to drinks for the squadron."

"Deal!" everyone called out.

Harry left the room satisfied that at last Luke was taken care of. He made his way to the command center to find two of his wives talking seriously with General Rieekan and Bail Organa.

"So who won the betting pool?" Bail asked as he arrived.

"I did, of course," Harry said.

"The voice of eternal wisdom," Rieekan said.

"Well, I've had several hundred thousand children and grandchildren get married, so I'm fairly familiar with the rituals. I think she'll be exactly what he needs. In fact, once he gets over the shock of it, I think you'll find he becomes a much better officer for her addition to his life."

"I suspect you're right," Rieekan allowed. "Admiral, I think you should know that we've just heard from Colonel Katarn. They have finally identified where the _Arc Hammer_ is."

All humor fled from Harry's face. Fortunately, there had been no more uses of the Talisman, but the risk was always there. "Where?"

"It operates out of a fueling station in the outer rim called Ergo," Rieekan said. "But the ship is being accompanied by Admiral Thrawn's super star destroyer, the _Executor_, and a fleet of ten star destroyers and another three hundred smaller ships. Almost a sector fleet's worth of firepower. We would frankly have an easier time taking on the Death Star."

"I'm not too concerned with the ships around it," Harry said. "The _Rogue Shadow_ has been upgraded sufficiently that we can sneak in without being detected. No, what concerns me is the Talisman. If the Emperor activates it, any insertion force that goes in there is going to be at risk."

"What are you thinking?" Leia said.

Harry gave her a serious look. "Me and Kyle. No one else. I'll need you and the others to stay on the _Shadow_ in case we're detected, but otherwise just two of us."

"If Kyle gets hurt, Jan will never forgive you," Juno pointed out.

"I'm not sure Kyle can get hurt," Harry said. "Every few generations, there's always that one person who seems to be able to take on whole armies by himself, but who never really gets the fame you'd think he deserves. Kyle is that hero. He'll be fine." He kissed Leia and then Juno. "We'll leave tomorrow. Set up a rendezvous with Kyle for me?"

"We'll get it done," Leia said with determination in her eye.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Darkest Before the Morn**

The _Yavin_ was now Kyle Katarn's personal command. The ship was designated as planetary assault ship. Colonel Katarn had five hundred soldiers and three heavy cruisers under his command. He now commanded a sufficient force to vaporize a city, though with only five hundred soldiers he would not be able to invade and occupy it.

More importantly, he had a wife of four months at his side, serving as his executive officer, his moral compass, and his higher mental functions.

Those higher mental functions were not happy.

"So you are going to just hop on Admiral Potter's personal ship, board the _Arc Hammer_ all by yourselves, and blow it up?"

"That's the plan," Kyle said. "When you consider I'm going with Harry, it's not as insane as it sounds."

"Yes it is," Jan nearly snarled. "Don't get me wrong—the man married us. But I don't appreciate him taking my husband on suicide missions."

"I don't think it's a suicide mission," Kyle said. "He can teleport, Jan. He's going to teleport us in, and then get us out once we've destroyed the Talisman Project. It's possible no one will even know we're there!"

"Colonel, we've received a signal that the _Rogue Shadow_ is en route. They request permission to dock in the ventral hangar bay."

"Granted," Kyle said easily to the corporal. Being an army ship, they followed army rankings. "Well, Jan, do you want to come meet him so you can yell at him too?"

"Damned right."

The two made their way through the frigate until they reached the hangar bay. While not as large as what a Star Destroyer would have, the hangar was actually disproportionately large for a ship of _Yavin's_ size due to its dedicated function as a military transport. The two waited with a small honor guard of soldiers for the _Rogue Shadow_ to appear.

They continued to wait, until Kyle clicked his comlink. "Bridge, when are they supposed to be here?"

"Sir, they report they have already landed."

Jan raised a brow. "What?"

The air in front of them shimmered, and suddenly the _Rogue Shadow_ was there, resting on the hangar deck. The ramp was already down, and Harry Potter stood on its end with an impish grin on his face.

"What do you think?" he called. "I made a few upgrades."

Jan was already examining some of the changes she could see in the stealth ship. Specifically she studied what looked like a large mounted beam weapon that ran down the starboard side of the asymmetrical ship. "What is that?" she asked pointing.

"Phased particle cannon," Harry said. "You don't need more than one of those on any ship."

"I've never heard the term."

"No, I'm sure you haven't."

As they approached Maris Brood ran down the ramp with an awe-struck look on startling, beautiful face. "This ship is incredible! It holds over a hundred concussion missiles!"

Kyle blinked. "That's not even physically possible on a ship this size."

"Shrinking charms," Harry said with a shrug. "And not all of them are missiles. I tinkered and made a few variable-yield hypermatter torps too. For those days when a hundred gigatons is just not enough."

Again, no explanation of what a "hypermatter" torpedo appeared to be coming anytime soon. They walked up the ramp and into an interior that looked more like a rustic living area than the interior of a ship. The walls looked almost like wood and brick, and one wall had a window that actually showed a scene of Alderaan. Moreover, there was at least fifty times the volume of space within the ship than the exterior allowed for.

"Magic," Kyle muttered.

"Yep," Harry said happily. "This ship is not a warship to be lived on. It's a home to go to war in."

Leia emerged from a hallway leading toward what in the normal universe would have been the ship's cockpit. She smiled brilliantly at still newly married couple. "Hello again," she said, giving both of them a hug. "Ready for the tour?"

Kyle and Jan gave stunned nods.

"Great. This is the sitting room." She led them through a hallway while Harry disappeared somewhere else. "To the right is the swimming pool."

"Swimming pool?" Kyle asked. "On a ship this size?" He looked through into a massive Gymnasium just as large as the ship itself filled with a large pool of water.

"Through there is the training room."

Another gymnasium, equally large.

"Here is where you two will be staying."

The room was a complete, well appointed suite with a soft king-sized bed, end tables, a holosuite and a luxuriously appointed fresher.

"And then here's the master suite."

Both Jan and Kyle noticed the bed taking up the center of the room. It was easily eight feet wide and rounded, with a veritable wall of pillows. Though they could not see it all, through one door they saw a bath large enough to seat eight.

With the tour over, they made their way to the cockpit. Jan looked at the cockpit in confusion. "That's not a standard layout," she noted.

"No," Harry said. Juno took the pilot's seat, while Mara took the co-pilot's seat. Leia and Maris joined Harry at different consoles around the interior, which was much larger than the exterior hinted at.

The ship hummed to life. "And that's not a standard power system," Kyle noted.

"No, it isn't."

"Everyone strapped in?" Mara said.

"We're ready," Maris said.

The ship lifted silently from the deck of the hangar and glided out into open space. "Do you have the coordinates?" Juno asked.

"Here." Kyle fished out the data chit and handed it over. Juno entered the data and nodded. "Go it. Okay, well, here goes nothing."

"What does she mean?" Kyle asked.

The sky exploded into a maelstrom of white light which finally resolved into a tunnel not too dissimilar to hyperspace. And a minute later, the sky reverted to normal. "I have the station," Mara said from her position.

Juno adjusted her coordinates, and Kyle sucked in a breath as _Ergo_ station came into view. "We were three days from that station."

"I crossed a void between galaxies in a week," Harry said. "Mages use a true form of hyperspace your people never heard of. As far as I know, your people never attempted to advance your propulsion systems beyond what you already have. You found hyperdrive early on, which is fast but inefficient and requires an intimate mapping of space to be safe, hence you stay on known routes. True hyperspace is outside of normal matter, and so mapping is less important. This ship goes through planets and stars."

"Are you going to share this technology?" Jan asked.

"Never."

"Why?"

"Because the Emperor would get it and use it to blow up planets, murder whole civilizations, and kill puppies. The planets and civilizations I could live with—but I will never allow anyone to needlessly harm a puppy."

They all stared at him, trying to figure out what a puppy was. However, Harry was already moving. "Kyle, coming? Juno, love, please keep the ship cloaked and take us to the _Arc Hammer_."

"On our way. You're going to apparate?"

"Yes. Be on standby to get us out fast."

Kyle joined him, pausing only long enough to grab a bag of weapons. "Have enough guns there, Kyle?"

"You can never have enough guns," Kyle countered.

"Okay, hang on tight."

He grabbed Kyle's arm as Leia and Jan Ors Katarn joined them in the sitting room. Jan was about to call out to Kyle that she loved him, but before she could the two were gone. "Don't worry," Leia said, somehow sensing her intent. "He knows."

The shuttle drifted without power in the midst of a shattered comet making its way into the atmosphere of Hoth. Adrift as the planet was in a dirty system filled with asteroids and comets, the occurrence was not unusual.

The pilot of the shuttle was skilled—it hits the atmosphere with no power but at the perfect angle to minimize the disruption of re-entry, positioned solely by chemical positional jets. Once in the atmosphere, it extended its tri-foils but still did not activate any drive systems, not even its repulsor coils, until it was almost on the surface. The shuttle's powerful thruster block then exploded with fusion power and sent it barreling across the planet's icy surface toward the anomalous readings their probe had picked up.

The shuttle found a narrow crevice fifty clicks from the site and went down to land. It's rear latch opened and fifty men draped in white armor and thermal skirts and neck scarves emerged in two lines. Each carried a specialized repeater blaster carbine with a mini rocket/grenade launcher attached behind.

After the men disembarked, their gear came sliding out as well. Specialized, cold-proof speeder bikes, fifty in all. The snow troopers locked their carbines in the specialized holder on the side of the bikes and climbed on. The bikes purposefully forced them into a near horizontal position to minimize their silhouette against the snow. The bikes themselves were a mottled white color with a large filter at the back to absorb the heat of the thruster without actually interfering with the thrust itself.

The leader took off, and all fifty followed along behind in a single line, again designed to minimize the disruption of the soil. They flew slowly, only twenty clicks an hour, again to minimize the amount of snow thrown up by their trail.

It took over two hours for them to reach the anomaly, but the snow troopers did not mind. They were human, of course, given the Empire's humano-centric recruiting policies, but all were from cold-climate planets. They _like_ the cold, though with their thermal skirts and insulated armor they could barely feel it.

They finally reached the anomaly. Rather than ride right up to it, they dismounted half a click away and examined it from a distance. They saw the force fence around it to keep out the indigenous life, and also saw the two laser cannon turrets on either end. They continued to wait for nearly an hour until they saw a sentry cross between the turrets—a rebel uniform.

The fiftieth man climbed back onto his speeder bike and started the trek back, going just as slow on the return as they did on the first part of the journey. Meanwhile, the forty-nine remaining storm troopers pulled their white carbines off their bikes, pulled their collapsible thermal skirts of their head, and began the slow, laborious process of crawling toward the power generator of Hoth Base.

Crawling slowly, often waiting still for ten minutes or more, it took easily two more hours to reach the thermal generator. By then the sun was setting. Rather than continue their attack, the snow troopers used their carbines and specialized, self-heating knives to dig into the snow while keeping the surface flat with their thermal skirts. Within minutes they had established a mostly comfortable burrow under the ice and snow within a dozen feet of the rebel power generator.

That night the night staff in the command center never saw the tight, three second tight laser-transmission beam shot from fifty kilometers from their base. It was not an open holonet transmission, but rather a brief burst of red light in which the necessary data was encapsulated.

The beam diffused partially through the atmosphere, but was still tight enough to go through the monitoring satellites that looked like asteroids caught in orbit of the planet, until the beam reached the awaiting sector fleet.

On the flagship of the fleet, a powerful but not extraordinary _Imperial-II_ class Star Destroyer called _Empire's Will_, bright red eyes set in a blue-skinned face scanned over the decoded transmission burst with satisfaction.

"Begin moving the fleet," Grand Admiral Thrawn ordered the captains of his fleet by holonet. "Remember, slow and patient. Do not let them detect our approach. Make sure to fly fighters ahead of your ship to clear any potential mines."

As one the ship captains bowed in acknowledgement, and the attack began.

While the rebel fleet was engaged in Mon Calamari, and now Corellia, they had only a pair of heavy assault cruisers in the nearby asteroid belt to call on. Thrawn had already dispatched twenty of his frigates and corvettes to deal with the heavy cruisers. The smaller ships could navigate through the asteroid belt easier than the larger star destroyers.

In took most of the evening, but Thrawn's fleet cleared the asteroid belt without a single loss of life, save for one unfortunate TIE pilot who got cocky and clipped a solar panel against an asteroid.

Dawn was just rising over the base when Thrawn cave the signal.

The fifty snow troopers emerged from their burrows and ran toward the generator. The turret operators were themselves exhausted by the long shift and never saw the white figures moving against the white snow until the first thermal detonators went off, blowing the turret hatch and killing the men inside. Both turrets were neutralized, and the sentry was taken down with a knife to the throat. Not a single shot was fired.

Within the command center, General Rieekan walked in with a friendly nod to his night relief and sent the younger man to get some sleep. He sat down near the tactical table that showed a holographic representation of the Hoth System, sipped his caf, and started reading the morning reports.

He did not get very far when his comlink went off. "This is Rieekan," he said.

"Carlist," came the pensive-sounding voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi, "I and my fellow Jedi have been feeling a danger in the Force. It was elusive last night, but when we woke up this morning the feeling was very acute. Do you have anything on…."

But Carlist Rieekan was no longer listening. His eyes were glued to the holographic tactical display showing fifty ships suddenly firing upon and utterly destroying their heavy cruisers. "Oh Force," he whispered. He slammed the base-wide intercom. "All stations, this is General Rieekan. We are under attack! Repeat, we are under attack. Our heavy cruisers have been destroyed. All men to battle stations. Begin emergency evacuation procedures at once!"

The forty-nine storm troopers finished placing their charges along the base of the power generators. The time for stealth was over and they ran at full tilt until they reached their speeder bikes. They were flying away at full speed when the charges went off, immediately destroying the power generator.

In the command center, Lieutenant Toryn Farr gasped as the whole station darkened for a moment before the emergency generators came in. "General, we've lost the generator," she said in a dead voice. "Shields are gone, the ion cannons are inoperable."

Rieekan closed his eyes, cursing under his breath just as the first turbolaser cannon blasts hit the perimeter of the base. Without their shield in place, there was no defense against orbital bombardment. There was no reason for the Empire to launch a ground assault. Admiral Thrawn had no interest in invading and conquering the planet. His task as assigned by the Emperor personally was to simply obliterate the Alliance.

In the base below, Obi-Wan, Yoda and It'kla gathered the small group of Jedi while Han Solo and Luke Skywalker scrambled to get to their fighters. The Imperial fleet was being very methodical and began the obliteration of the planet surface on the perimeter of the base, moving inward in a sheet of death.

The Alliance did not have time to pack their supplies. Most did not even have time to run. Carlist Rieekan died with Toryn Farr and the rest of the command staff. General Vernon died seconds later. Solo, half of his pilots, Luke and most of the Jedi made it to their fighters and managed to launch. They flew into an atmosphere burning with turbolaser fire from one side of the horizon to the other. The snow was gone, as was the top quarter mile of the surface as the Empire steadily reduced Hoth to a burning ball of slag.

Luke watched in horror as Jake Lo'gaan's fighter disappeared in a ball of gas. He could hear Jekria's cry of anguish at the death of her father. Luke did not even have the strength to cry out, such was the numbness of their defeat. Han cursed loudly as he watched one after another of his pilots die.

The fighters flew ahead of the rain of destruction and surged up to make it into orbit. There they found a whole swarm of a thousand TIE fighters waiting for them. The commander of the TIE squadrons recognized the atmospheric superiority of the T-64 X-wing fighters and chose instead to engage in the TIE's prime medium.

"There's no choice," Han said grimly. "Blow through, top speed. Do not stop, do not deviate from your goal. Drop forward shields to maximize your firepower and burn for all your worth. Rendezvous with the Mon Calamari fleet if you get through."

"Good luck, Han," Luke said.

"You too, kid," Han said. "Good luck to us all. Now, go!"

The three dozen or so X-wing fighters, all that remained of the six-thousand strong members of the Hoth rebel base, plowed into the cloud of TIE-fighters with their laser cannons and torpedos blasting away desperately.

Of the thirty-six ships that entered the cloud, thirteen emerged from the other side of the TIE fighters. In the lead, Luke Skywalker wiped bitter, stinging tears from his eyes. Jekria Lo'gaan's fighter was not one of the baker's dozen that emerged.

"I'm so sorry, kid," Han said a moment before his fighter surged into hyperspace.

Luke nodded, wiped his nose, and followed.

Two men appeared in an empty corridor. The corridor was the same gray as all Imperial ships. "First things first," Harry said. The two started walking down the hall until they reached a computer terminal.

Kyle removed a small slicer box and jacked it in. "Okay, here we go," he said. "Project Talisman is housed in a development lab on Deck 23C. And look—the ship has a Dark Trooper production line as well. Goody."

Both men heard a loud clanging sound in the rhythm of steps and looked up in time to see two massive dark troopers turned the corner directly in front of them.

Harry was about to transfigure the two machines into plants when Kyle removed a very large rifle from his pack and fired in a single, practiced motion. A streak of blue light slammed into the two droids and blew them apart, while also ripping apart the walls of the corridor and setting off every alarm on the ship.

"Subtle," Harry said. "You want to stay with me or go blow things up?"

"Blow things up, of course," Kyle said.

"Fine." Harry grabbed Kyle's belt buckle in a way that made the young Jedi gasp.

"Whoa, now, I'm a married man!"

"Your belt buckle is now a portkey," Harry said with a grin. "Grab it and say 'Jan' and it will take you back to the _Rogue Shadow_."

"Gotcha. Thanks."

"All right, have fun. Don't die."

"You neither."

Harry watched the brave young warrior run in the opposite direction until he disappeared around the corner. Moments later he heard the sound of the huge gun firing again, followed moments later by screaming.

He disillusioned himself and continued on his way. Almost immediately he encountered resistance in the form of ceiling-mounted e-webs and more dark troopers. The e-webs exploded at a glance and he transfigured the droids into glass. The first step shattered their bodies under their own weight.

There were a handful of storm troopers that he turned into frogs, but the officer he summoned. He read the man's mind and in a second gained a clear picture of the lab where the Talisman Project was kept. With that image, Harry closed his eyes and disapparated.

On the other side of the hall, Kyle ducked behind a corner as more dark troopers fired plasma cannons at him. He reached out with his burgeoning Force sense and grasped one firmly enough to bring it flying forward. As it passed his position he shot it in the back with his own concussion rifle.

The shockwave hurt like hell, but it was the only thing that seemed to dent or damage the huge dark troopers. The second one cleared the corner just in time for Kyle to light his saber and thrust it into the exposed armpit of the machine. The arm with the cannon came off, exposing a larger opening. Kyle thrust his saber in through the chest cavity of the droid and watched if fall sparking and twitching to the floor.

He had to take a deep breath to recover from the close concussion blast before he continued. He didn't get very far before another, larger Dark Trooper stepped into his path. Only, he sensed a presence in this trooper.

"Kyle Katarn," a familiar voice said. "I knew at the Academy you would go far, but I never thought it would be so far away from honor and loyalty. What a disappointment you've become."

Kyle had heard that deep, grandfatherly voice many times during his Academy days. Once upon a time he listened with complete respect. "General Rohm Moc. I'd say it's good to see you again, but I'd be lying. I've come to put these troopers of yours to rest."

"We'll see about that," Moc said. "Though even if you succeed here, you'll fail. Did you notice the absence of storm troopers, Kyle? The absence of personnel at all? That's for a reason. The ships around this base are mere shells—old redressed hulks. Even as we speak, your base on Hoth is being obliterated. At last the Imperial Navy is under the command of a truly worthy man, even if he is not truly human."

Kyle fought hard to control his breathing. He sensed nothing but hurtful, joyous truth in the man's words. "Seems a lot of work to go through just to trap a lowly Alliance colonel."

"Oh, dear, foolish boy," Moc said. "This was never about you. This is about your friend the Celestial. He is going to find that the Muur Talisman is more than a match even for him. And even if he should survive the day, nothing he fights for will. Not that it matters."

Moc raised one arm and fired a plasma cannon blast without hesitation.

Kyle felt the threat in the Force just moments before and flung himself forward and to the side like he did when fighting the first Dark Trooper. However, this was not a droid brain, but an experienced, capable fighter.

Moc brought his other hand around in a powerful chop that clipped Kyle's right arm, snapping it easily.

The Jedi fell awkwardly and felt his knee cap crack with numbing pain. He managed to just roll away as Moc launched a volley of blaster fire.

"Jan!" Kyle shouted as he clutched his belt buckle.

He felt a discomforting pull on his navel, and moments later fell into a couch in the sitting room of the _Rogue Shadow_. "Jan!" he cried again.

Seconds later Jan was running into the room, following by Harry's wives. She immediately started treating his arm while Kyle looked up at Leia. "General Moc said this was all a trap to lure Harry away from Hoth Base. He said the base was destroyed and our fleets at Kashyyyk and Mon Calamari were obliterated."

Leia blanched, and behind her the other wives did as well. "We can't signal them while cloaked," Juno finally said. "We'll just have to wait until Harry gets back. Where is he?"

"Still on board. We split up." Kyle grimaced. "I'm going to go into a healing trance, but wake me if you need to."

Leia and the rest nodded and then watched as Kyle laid back on the couch and seemed to go to sleep.

Leia felt an arm around her shoulder and turned to see Mara holding her. "I'm sure he's all right," Mara said. "We'd know if he wasn't."

"Yes," Leia said weakly.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Morne**

Harry felt when Kyle left the ship. Kyle and his single opponent were the only living things he could feel after he killed few living men, though he knew the ship was brimming with Dark Troopers.

He had already encountered a dozen of the fearsome robots. The weapons fired the moment they spotted him, and continued firing even after he apparated to a point behind them and transfigured their bodies to glass. The shockwave of their own weapons was usually enough to shatter them at that point.

Still, the whole thing felt wrong. The air thrummed with a danger as profound and pervasive as anything Harry had ever felt.

"Harry, Kyle has come over," Leia's voice came over the comlink. "General Moc told him that Hoth base was under attack."

"Does Kyle believe him?"

"Yes."

Harry nodded grimly. "We need to finish this, and then we'll go see what's happening."

He continued through the halls, transfiguring and destroying dark trooper after dark trooper. He was nearing the lab when the first rakghouls appeared. Only, these rakghouls wore the remnants of Imperial naval uniforms and carried guns. He sensed no intelligence within them, and yet their attacks showed intelligence.

More and more came. He transfigured them into rocks and sticks as he made his way through the halls. It appeared the entire lab crew had been turned into rakghouls, and by the time he reached the lab the halls were littered with rocks and sticks.

He stopped at the transparisteel windows of the lab and felt as if someone had punched him.

A woman stood in the middle of the lab surrounded by rakghouls. They seemed to be obeying her commands.

The woman herself was stunningly beautiful, with rich black hair that hung down in a thick braid that reached down the small of her back. The braid was wrapped in white cloth. Her white two-piece uniform left her middrift bare and showed her considerable cleavage, but her arms were covered in sleeves that ended in gauntlets. She held a blazing yellow lightsaber in her hand. Around her neck was a scorpion-like choker that nearly glowed black with evil energy.

Red, enraged eyes looked at him through the glass.

"At last," she hissed. Her accept was strange and lilted, as if she were attempting to affect an age old dialect of basic. A moment later, though, Harry realized it was not an affectation. "My captor finally shows his face. Are you ready to die, Sith?"

Harry stared at her, captivated. The woman's power was stronger than anything he had encountered. However, it was the dark Sith magic that hung about her shoulders that caught his attention.

He raised a hand and the woman tensed for battle.

He flicked his fingers and the rakghouls were gone. In their place were rocks and sticks. Only then did he step into the lab proper. The woman was seemingly unfazed by his attack and swung her yellow lightsaber with deadly skill.

Harry pulled his twin sabers and parried. "I am not Sith," he said as he held back a flurry of blows.

"You are!" she said. "The general showed me images of you killing that man for the Sith Lord. You killed that man and murdered his family!"

Harry shrugged. "Well, I did kill the man. But I smuggled his family off planet and faked their deaths. I was trying to organize a coup to overthrow the Sith and needed him to believe me one of his servants. And frankly Carnac was a sleaze. His wife and kids were innocent, though."

"Liar!"

"My name is Harry Potter. And I was on Jabiim. The planet where you unleashed your power. Millions of people died on that world. Is that what you wanted?"

"NO!" The shout bordered on a hopeless wail of despair. "Never! I didn't mean to. The droids woke me and hurt me. It was instinctive. Muur struck before I could control it."

"You're a weapon," Harry said. "The Sith Emperor has been using you to strike at his enemies. They built droids who could not be turned to escort and control you. They took you to a rebel-friendly world and made you destroy it. I can't let that happen again."

She shifted her balance. "The Talisman wants you. He can feel your power."

"I bet he can. Muur was a Sith, then?"

"Yes. He wants me to give the talisman to you."

"And what happens to you?"

"Nothing. I'll die before I let this cursed talisman fall into the hands of a Sith."

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

She swung with a yell. Harry disapparated and banished her to a wall. She spun around, eyes wide. "Who are you?' she snapped back.

"I'll tell you if you tell me," he said. "But I promise I am not Sith. I'm here to destroy the weapon the Empire has been using to destroy my friends."

The woman straightened a little, though her saber remained at the ready. "I believe you," she whispered. "Very well. My name is Celeste Morne of Ossus. I was tasked by the Jedi Covenant to hunt down and find the Muur Talisman on Taris three years after the Sith destroyed my world. Unfortunately, I found it. I witnessed its power, and so I…I agreed to take it with me into Dreypa's Oubliette, a device that would hold me in suspended animation. The Sith found me, and used me as a weapon."

Harry was still not completely versed on everything in the galaxy's history, but he and his wives had researched Taris because of the rakghouls. The realization that he was looking at a four-thousand year old Jedi was startling.

"You do realize that Ossus was destroyed four thousand years ago," he said softly.

"What?' For a brief moment, the fight went out of her and her shoulders sagged. "How is that possible?"

"Time goes quickly when you're in suspended animation," he said. "Or dead."

Her wandering gaze snapped back to her face. "Who are you?"

"As I said, my name is Harry Potter. I am what your people would call a Celestial. The same Sith that used you summoned me, and tried to use me as his personal weapon. He eventually learned his mistake, and I've been fighting him since. You're welcome to join us."

"Never!" she said. "I'll never let anyone use the talisman!"

"Then destroy it."

"I can't."

"I can," Harry said resolutely. He loosened the binds he kept over his magic, letting his true power shine forth.

Her red eyes widened. "What are you?" she whispered.

"I told you," he said with a smile. "I am a two-million year old Celestial. The midi-chlorians that give you the Force were based on my DNA. My people created them. We built the human start systems. We brought humanity to this galaxy. And right now, I tell you I have the power to destroy the talisman."

"Muur does not believe you," Morne said in a shaky voice. "He thinks he can use your power for his own."

Harry grinned, but there was no humor in it. "Then let him try."

Without warning scorpion-like choker unlocked itself from Morne's neck and flew toward Harry on its own volition. Harry caught it and felt the cold, burning power of the talisman. "I've been destroying irritating little pieces of trash like you a million years before you were born, Muur," he whispered to the sentience contained within the device. It was, in a very real sense, a Sith horcrux.

He began chanting the exorcism spell, summoning the full power of his magic as he did so. Nearby, Celeste Morne staggered against a wall, gasping and crying at the pain of suddenly being freed. Harry, though, ignored her as he brought the full strength of his power against the most evil of devices.

The sentience within the device sensed the threat and reached out in the only way it could. Celeste screamed as black fluid gathered at the corners of her eyes.

"I don't think so," Harry growled. He poured more strength into his incantation, and Celeste stopped screaming and lurched over unconscious to the floor.

_I will not be defeated!_ The spirit of Muur raged. _I am forever! I am eternal!_

"You don't have any idea of what forever means!" Harry hissed. "I am the Forever Mage! And in the name of the light and magic, I banish you forever, Karness Muur. BEGONE!"

Power surged once more. The scorpion-like talisman glowed bright white for a brief moment, before it cracked.

The physical destruction was mild compared to the spiritual scream that rent the Force.

Harry staggered back, numb from the shock of the destruction, and exhausted from the sheer amount of magic it took to destroy the tasliman. He staggered to the fallen Jedi and knelt down beside her.

He was about to wake her when he heard heavy footsteps behind him.

"So you are the mighty Harry Potter," General Rohm Moc said from the center of his lethal Dark Trooper exosuit. "And to think the Emperor was ever worried about…."

He never finished. Harry transfigured the suit into a tin can, but did not resize the man within. The results were bloody and instantaneous.

He turned back to Celeste, using a conjured cloth to wipe the black fluid from her eyes. She came too and saw him leaning over her and tending her. "What…."

"Easy," he said softly. "The talisman has been destroyed. You're free."

She shook her head, and natural tears started to wash away the black. "I'll never be free," she whispered. "I killed so many…."

"And how many more did you save by taking the talisman into yourself?" Harry asked. Harry couldn't help himself. He smiled at her. "By Merlin, what you did is the bravest thing I think I've ever seen. You knew exactly what your fate would be and you did it anyway. By heaven that's incredible. You're incredible!"

She stared into his amazed eyes. "Are you really a Celestial?"

He leaned closer until he could smell her. He could tell she had not bathed in a long time—she smelled of blood, sweat and pain. But the musk of her body was also strong, and he felt himself responding to it.

"I have lived and died many times," he said softly to her. "Five women gather around an artifact from my youth, pledge themselves to be mine, and I am reborn. Again and again through the ages, I've faced dark lords and tyrants, armies and gods, always with five women at my side to guide and strengthen me. But this time, the fifth has been missing. But I see her now in your eyes. You have the courage and power of the best of Gryffindor."

He opened the bond, not enough to enslave her, but enough for her to feel what he could offer. He was expecting her to flush and gasp with the power of it.

He was not expecting a blast of Force energy sending him careening into the glass wall of the lab. "Ouch," he muttered as he slid to the floor.

"Lies!" Morne hissed. "You'd try to seduce my just like Muur did. One eternal slavery for another! Never!" Her yellow lightsaber flashed. "I'll die first. I'll kill you long before then!"

Harry had no choice but to disapparate as the blade cut through the glass. She spun around and attacked again as he appeared, sensing through the Force where he was going to appear before he actually did.

As a wizard, he could have beaten her easily. But he hesitated to do so. He didn't know if his hesitation was because she was so beautiful in her righteous anger, or because of the fact that, Jedi to Jedi, she was quickly simply kicking his ass.

He found the sensation oddly…comforting. It felt good to know that this beautiful woman, who was powerful but only within the range of her people, could out fight him. It made him feel human again.

"Why are you smiling!" she snarled.

"Because you're beating me," he said.

"You're a fool."

"Yes, probably," he agreed. He had to backpedal to avoid a swipe that would have cut him in half. "When you kill me, what will you do then?"

"You talk about death as if you are its friend."

"Oh, we are good friends. We go way back. Let me show you."

He sent images of his deaths to her, one after the other, hundreds and then thousands. The mental assault stopped her attack immediately and caused her to fell to her knees and retch all over the floor.

He cleaned the mess with a flick of his hands. "Sorry," he said softly.

She looked up, eyes narrowed. "The seduction didn't work, now you try horror?"

He shrugged. "How's this for a trick." He de-activated both his sabers and then tossed them to her. He then sat down cross-legged across from her and grinned. "I'm completely at your mercy."

She jumped back to her feet and had the saber at his neck. "I should kill you where you stand!"

"Actually, I'm sitting. So you should kill me where I sit."

She blinked in surprise at the jest. "You don't think I'll do it."

"Oh, that's just it—I know you'll do it. I can feel it from you. You have the strength to kill if you need to. Even yourself. You're dedication knows limits. I could beat you with my power, but it doesn't feel fair. So, since you're the better Jedi, I will submit to you. Kill me if you think you must."

She looked at him in confusion. "I don't sense evil in you."

"Well, you know, when you stop long enough to actually reach out with your senses, it's amazing what you can figure out. I am not Sith! I came here to destroy the Muur Talisman. And in the process I discovered the most incredible, beautiful, powerful woman I've seen in two million years. Can you blame me for trying to woo you?"

She took a step back but kept her saber at the ready. "You just met me."

He closed his eyes. "I can see your soul, Celeste Morne. If you look, you will see mine as well."

He felt her extending her senses to his mind, and without hesitation opened himself up to her, exposing hundreds of thousands of years of memory.

Celeste Morne knew pain. From watching her world die as a young padawan at the end of the Great Sith War, to the indescribable horrors of Taris, she knew pain.

She knew the Darkness as if it were her lover. Karnass Muur seduced her into accepting the power of the talisman to keep it out of the hands of the Mandolorian Pulsipher. However, she was strong enough to withstand the power he offered. Only to defeat his ultimate purpose did she keep the talisman and allow herself to be frozen in time.

Only, time and again in those last, terrible days, she used the talisman as a weapon against the Mandolorians, who were sweeping across the galaxy in the midst of the destruction of the Great Sith War. If not for the clumsy padawan, Carrick, she would have continued to do so.

He offered her the oubliette as a way to once and forever stop the threat the talisman presented. In her devotion to the Jedi and her hatred of the Sith, and because of Carrick's loyalty to her, she agreed.

Yet it seemed just a heart beat later, the lid of the oubliette opened and she found herself facing a Sith named Darth Vader, and the nightmare started over again. She managed to beat the Sith Lord back and turned his crew into rakghouls to force him to leave her. She crashed onto a barren moon and considered herself permanently stranded. And it remained that way for many years.

She thought herself beyond all hope. But then the ultimate Sith Lord came. He arrived alone, seemingly old and helpless. A wizened, ugly old man with Sith-burned orange eyes and a metallic smile.

He used platitudes like "Dear" and "Child", but his soul was so wretched it made the spirit of Karnass Muur purr. She attempted to strike him down, but the Sith's power was too great, and the last she saw of him with a contented smile as he forced her back into the oubliette.

After that she had only glimpses of the great dark droids that hurt her and caused her to reflexively lash out with the power. Again and again. Until the last time when she woke to a lab full of terrified officers and two more of the dark troopers. She lashed out at once, turning everyone she could sense in rakghouls so that she might escape.

Only, instead of escape, she found herself falling into the pit of a strange young man's memories. It felt as if she were falling down a great well. All around she saw memories playing out. Some were of him fighting valiantly. Many were of him loving women, and of their impassioned cries.

And finally she found herself sitting at a small table set before a large, arcing window that looked out over a beautiful, peaceful valley dominated by a lake of deep, dark blue water.

The transition should have left her bedazzled, but for some reason she felt oddly calm. Across from her she saw another woman, with thick, bushy hair barely held in check by a tie of some type. The other woman had soothing, intelligent brown eyes and a broad smile.

"Hello," she said.

Feeling as if she were in a dream, Celeste said, "Hello. Who are you?"

"I am the first woman Harry Potter ever loved. I am his first wife. You may call me Hermione."

Celeste blinked and looked around the room. The room suddenly seemed to go on forever, and wherever she looked, she saw thousands of women looking back at her. "Who are all these women?"

"These are your sisters," Hermione said. "They are all the Lady Gryffindors who came after me. Though he pretends he doesn't, Harry remembers every wife he ever had. One life after the other, hundreds of thousands of lives spread over uncountable eons, he still remembers. Because he truly loves every wife he has. And because those lives give him the power he needs to save the galaxy."

"You're really Potter, aren't you?" Celeste said. "And this is an elaborate hoax."

"I am a memory within Harry, so in that sense, yes, I am Harry," Hermione said. "I am an amalgamation of all his memories of me. And since I was not just his first wife, but the first girl who ever hugged him—the first to ever kiss him—the first to ever make love to him—his memories of me have a strong emotional content and strength than any of the others. I am more real, you might say. Because, though he loved all his wives throughout history, he loved me first and foremost."

"Why am I here?"

"Because you are going to be the last Lady Gryffindor," Hermione said with a wistful smile. "Not even Harry realizes this. Not consciously, anyway. You see, he truly is a Celestial. Our kind wielded true power, of which the Force is only the most shallow reflection. We evolved and grew strong until we thought ourselves gods, and then we realized the depths of our mistake when real gods challenged us. Through it all, Harry remained brave and strong. He was born again and again, dying again and again, to help save his people. But there is one battle left. And it is a battle he cannot fight unless he has all five of his wives. He has four—it is you he lacks. With your power, grace and love, he will be ready and will be able to put everything back to the way it was supposed to be."

"I am no man's wife."

"Harry is not just any man. He is the Forever Mage. And I can tell you from personal experience that if you allow him to, he can give you such passion and happiness that you will never feel any desire to consider the horrors of your past, while additionally giving you the challenge of changing the future with him."

"You speak as if I don't have a choice."

"There is always choice, Celeste Morne. When you wake from this vision, you can cut him down. The four beautiful, strong women who have already chosen to join him will die as their bonds are severed, but you will not face the temptation of his love again. But when Harry saw your soul, so did I, and I know you will not do this. For you are so full of love that you were willing to give up your life and your future to save people you had never met. You are the closest person to being like Harry that any of us have ever met. And it is that similarity that will bind you. For like you, Harry has had to give up his life and future many times. And like you, his destiny involves a great battle that will reshape the galaxy itself. It is because of this that I know you will choose wisely. And when the time comes, your memory will join us here, and your soul will reside with the rest of us in heaven. Let him love you, Celeste Morne. Of all the people in the galaxy, you deserve his love, even if only for what time you can have it."

Suddenly the room and the woman was gone, and Celeste found herself sitting cross-legged two feet from Harry Potter. He opened his eye and she saw they were an alien shade of green she had never seen before.

"What did you find in there?" he asked softly.

"A woman named Hermione."

His smile turned sad and wistful. "After all these years, I still carry a little part of her with me," he said sadly. "It's amazing that you can still miss someone after so long. I've loved every wife, but I've often wondered if she wasn't my one and only soul mate."

"She says I will be the new Lady Gryffindor."

"It is my hope."

"She says you have a final battle to fight."

"The Emperor of this galaxy is Sith. I intend to destroy him and restore freedom to the galaxy," he said. "Few Jedi survive. You will not just be my wife—you will be a Jedi master to help restore the order."

"I…I have never been with a man. I never thought I would be."

He leaned forward and slowly unleashed the bond. He watched as the flush started in her chest and moved up. "What you are feeling is the first stage of a bond of magic. Similar to a Force bond. It will bind us as man and wife. But at this stage I could stop it and you could live your life as you wish. Once upon a time I did not have control over this bond, but I do now, and I will never bond with someone against their will if I have any say in it. Do you wish me to sever this bond, Celeste?"

She closed her eyes, luxuriating in the foreign sensation. "No," she whispered.

"Good," he said. "Because in all my hundreds of thousands of lives, I've never met anyone as selfless and powerful as you, not since my wonderful Hermione." He unleashed the full power of the bond and Celeste convulsed as if struck, moaning as she did so.

"I don't know what to do," she moaned. And so he leaned forward, placed his lips against hers, and showed her. She ran his lips down her long neck, tasting the sweat and musk of her four thousand year captivity.

"Yes," she gasped, realizing now through his physical touch what the urges of the bond meant.

And so Harry Potter and Celeste Morne consummated their bonds on the floor of the lab in the otherwise abandoned _Arc Hammer_ while across the galaxy, the planet of Hoth burned into a glassy cinder.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Five: Wizard's Revenge**

Jan Ors looked up from her husband in alarm when she heard Leia gasp and almost fall over. "What is it?' she demanded.

Moments later a furiously blushing Mara Jade entered the medical bay of the _Rogue Shadow_. "Leia, did you feel it?"

"I'm still feeling it," Leia said.

"Feeling what?" Jan asked.

Before she got her answer, Juno Eclipse and Maris Brood also entered, smiling happily. "He found her!" Maris exclaimed happily.

"Found who?" Jan asked.

"But how?" Mara asked the other wives, ignoring Jan for the moment in her obvious excitement. "How could he find her on board an Imperial ship?"

"I don't know, but it's definitely her," Maris said. She swayed. "They're doing it again."

"If someone doesn't answer me, I'm going to start shooting," Jan snarled.

"Harry found the fifth wife," Leia said, taking pity on the other woman.

"Fifth wife?" Jan said. "Because four isn't enough?"

"Not for him," Mara said.

"Before you girls got all itchy," Kyle Katarn said in a pained voice, "did any of you manage to contact Hoth?"

The question burned away the excitement the four women seemed to share. Leia sighed. "No, I haven't, and I admit I'm worried. Father was there, along with most of our ground forces, food supplies for the fleet, and all the replacement fighters we had built up. Not to mention munitions resupplies. It was our largest base of operations. It seems hard to believe."

"The Force led me to believe that Moc was telling the truth."

"We'll keep trying," Leia said. She stood and left the medical bay with her sister wives, leaving Jan and Kyle alone.

"Five wives, sheesh," Kyle muttered.

"Don't even think it," Jan said.

"I wasn't. I can't even keep up with you."

It was the right answer. She leaned down at kissed him so thoroughly he had to gasp when they parted. "Don't forget it, you idiot. Look at you. You almost got yourself killed. I don't know why I put up with you!"

"Because I love you?"

"Oh, yeah." She kissed him more tenderly this time. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"Promise."

Two hours later, Harry Potter and the new Lady Gryffindor appeared with a wispy "pop" in the middle of the sitting room.

Celeste began reaching for her lightsaber when she sensed people waiting for her, but stopped at Harry's gentle touch. "Celeste, I'd like you to meet your sister bond mates." He guided her to a diminutive but stately woman with brunette hair and compassionate brown eyes.

"This is Leia, Lady Slytherin. She is the adopted daughter of Senator Bail Organa, Viceroy of Alderaan and the last daughter of the House of Organa. Alderaan was destroyed over a year ago, and so there will be no more Alderaanian nobles. Her natural parents were Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and former Queen of Naboo Padme Amidala."

The death of planets was not unheard of, even in Celeste's time. "Hello," she said.

"Leia, this is Jedi Knight Celeste Morne, Lady Gryffindor. Celeste is a veteran of the Great Sith War, and was on Taris during the Rakghoul Plague."

Leia's eyes widened. "The Great Sith War?"

"She has been in suspended animation for several millennia to save the galaxy from the talisman that created the plague. Unfortunately, the Emperor found her."

"And the Talisman?"

"Destroyed, though with much effort." Harry turned Celeste to a lithe, startlingly beautiful young woman with vibrant red hair. "This is Mara Jade Potter. She was initially manipulated by the Sith into bonding with me first, but we've grown to love each other a great deal since then."

Celeste could not help but reach out and touch the red locks. "You remind me of Nomi Sunrider," she said.

Mara looked at the older woman in awe. "You knew Nomi Sunrider?"

"She was part of the relief effort to save the Jedi of Ossus before it was destroyed by a Sith-spawned supernova. She was very beautiful—like you."

"Thank you," Mara said simply.

"This is Jedi Knight Juno Eclipse, Lady Ravenclaw," Harry said. Juno smiled at the latest addition to the family.

"Welcome, my sister," Juno said softly. She stepped forward and hugged Celeste. "If what he said is true, you have four thousand years of history to catch up on. I can help you if you but ask."

"And finally Maris Brood, Lady Hufflepuff. Maris was a padawan when the Sith Emperor conducted a purge that wiped out most of the order. She brushed against the darkness, but now burns all the brighter because of it."

The Zabrak was staring unabashedly at Celeste. "You're just like Harry," she said. "You've lived forever because you were willing to sacrifice everything."

Celeste looked from the beautiful Zabrak to Harry, then back again. "I suppose we have similarities," she allowed. She looked around the spacious ship. "Where are we? How did we come here?"

"Through the power of Mages one can teleport," Harry explained. "Leia?"

Leia disappeared with a pop, only to reappear across the floor. "It's a learned skill," Lady Slytherin said with a wry smile at the amazed look on Celeste's face.

"So, how's Kyle?" he asked.

"Broken," Leia said.

"Let's go fix him."

Jan looked up at Harry and his wives entered. She immediately caught sight of the stunningly beautiful Celeste Morne. "Number five, huh?"

"Are you number six?" Celeste asked dryly.

"No, she's number one, for me," Kyle said. "So where was the talisman?"

"Around her neck," Harry said. "She was a Jedi Knight during the Great Sith War. She found the talisman and kept it from harming others by going into suspended animation with it. Bravest damned thing I've seen in all my lifetimes. The plagues were not her fault."

"Wow," Kyle said. He looked back at Morne. "Hello, I'm Kyle Katarn. Colonel. Jedi in training."

"And broken," Harry said. "Let's fix that." He placed a hand on the cast around Kyle's arm, then his leg, and finally his ribs. When his removed his hand from each spot, a faint afterglow remained.

"Alright, remove the casts. He should be fine now."

Jan looked up at Harry in surprise, but Kyle was already removing the casts. "That is so cool," he said. "Can Jedi masters heal that fast?"

"No," Celeste Morne said, astounded. "More mage power?"

"Yep. We're just full of surprises. Now, let's head to the bridge and go see what's happening with Hoth. Leia, have you heard anything?"

"Nothing yet," she said.

They led the way through the massive interior. "How big is this vessel?" Celeste asked.

"A lot larger on the inside than on the out," Harry explained. "I used magic to increase the interior dimensions beyond that of the exterior of the ship. From the outside it looks like a strange shuttle. But inside, as you can see, it has all the comforts of home."

They reached the cockpit and took their positions. "You aren't the pilot?" Celeste asked Harry. "I thought this was your ship."

"Actually, its Juno's," Harry said. "And they don't let me fly."

"The last ship he piloted, he crashed in a swamp," Mara said with a fond smile. "He commands a fleet of ten ships, and even the captains of those ships won't let him take the helm. He's a famously bad pilot."

"Which is ironic since given swoop and speeder bikes, I'm the best there's ever been," he said with a shrug.

They activated the ship's unique hyperdrive, and moments later arrived at Hoth.

The silence was only broken by Celeste Morne saying, "I don't remember Hoth being that color."

"It wasn't yesterday," Harry said grimly.

The planet had been subjected to a general order Base Delta Zero—a complete bombardment from orbit that obliterated any trace of the surface and left nothing but molten rock.

"Oh my stars," Leia breathed. "How…"

"Ships are incoming," Juno announced from the pilot's seat. "Two star destroyers and four heavy cruisers. Sensors are detecting additional ships on the far side of the planet. It looks like they are just finishing up the bombardment."

In a voice as cold as Hoth used to be, Harry said, "Give me weapons control, please."

Celeste watched as Harry pulled up a completely foreign-looking computer console. Through the view ports she saw a pair of massive ships and four smaller but still huge craft were heading right toward them.

Suddenly six white lights belched out from the asymmetrical ship. Each light moved toward a separate target. The incoming ships started firing their turbolasers both at the _Rogue Shadow_ and at the approaching torpedoes, but nothing came of their tries.

The torpedoes hit at roughly the same time, enveloping their targets in mile-wide spheres of pure white light. When the spheres faded, only shrapnel remained. "Wow," Mara breathed. "Are you sure you don't want to give the Alliance this technology?"

"Once the Alliance has it, the Empire will get it," Harry said. "I'm not going to open that can of worms just yet," Harry insisted.

"The other ships are coming around the planetary horizon," Juno said. "It looks to be near sector fleet strength."

"Juno, take us in," Harry said. "We're going to show them what it means to anger a mage."

"Revenge is not the Jedi way," Celeste said.

He grinned darkly. "I'm not a Jedi. I am a wizard."

The _Shadow_ accelerated under Juno's sure hand. Celeste and the others watched in amazement as Harry shot torpedo after torpedo, obliterating the first lines of ships. As they got closer, a shimmering bream of white energy burst out from under the bridge and impacted with a gigantic star destroyer directly ahead of them.

The beam tore through armor, directly into the hypermatter reactor. As the first star destroyer died in a spectacular explosion that buffeted the small _Rogue Shadow_, the phased particle cannon tore into a second and then a third. By the time Juno finished the strafing run, half the ships were either gone entirely, or blown into pieces. The rest of the ships in the fleet were breaking off to either escape through the asteroid belt, or to gain better position to repel the attacker.

Juno, sensing Harry's intent, brought the _Shadow_ back around, and once again he started firing the phased particle canon, targeting each Imperial ship perfectly so that one shot meant one kill. Those ships that had already moved a distance away, he fired a single torpedo at. As they flew, Kyle and Jan made their way in silently, watching as a single yacht-sized ship managed to obliterate an entire sector fleet by itself.

When the last ship died, Mara said, "We just killed a million people."

Harry settled back from the console. "Seven hundred and thirty-six thousand according to the ship's scans," he whispered. He rubbed his face. "We need to find out who escaped. Do we have anything on the Gold Channel?"

"No," Leia said. "But that could be due to jamming. Our largest fleet concentration was at Mon Calamari trying to protect the shipyards there."

"Then that's where we're going," Harry said resolutely. "Juno?"

She was already entering the coordinates. Celeste looked around the cockpit and said, "I need to know exactly what is happening."

"The Republic fell twenty years ago to the Sith," Leia summarized quickly. "My father and two other senators slowly began to build up a resistance, until almost five years ago their separate factions came together to form a Rebel Alliance to fight the Empire. Our largest and most important base was on Hoth. And it looks like the Empire wiped it out completely. My…my father was there."

"As was the last remnants of the Jedi Order," Juno added.

Celeste nodded somberly and looked at Harry. "I was a mere distraction, wasn't I?" she asked softly.

"I'm afraid so," Harry said. "That impressive-looking fleet was comprised mostly of empty hulls of old ships." He reached out and took her hand. "But I would have gone anyway, and no matter what, I can't make myself regret finding you. For the first time in this galaxy, I am at my full power. For the first time, we're going to take the fight to the Empire."

The ship flashed through true hyperspace, and emerged a moment later into a scene from hell. Nearly five hundred Imperial ships were in a hemispherical formation around a much, much smaller Rebel fleet trapped against the atmosphere of Mon Calamari, pounding on the ships mercilessly.

"We've got signals now!" Leia said. "By the Force, it's a massacre! We've lost half our fleet!"

"Then it's time to even the odds," Harry said. "Juno, please take us in."

Like at Hoth, the small _Shadow_ launched what should have been an impossible number of torpedoes, each one finding and obliterating its target. Ten, twenty, forty, sixty, eighty torpedoes made quick work of an equal number of front line ships. The quick destruction of so many Imperial vessels caught the attention of the Imperial navy and eased up the bombardment of the Rebel fleet.

As soon as the torpedoes were exhausted, the _Shadow_ started with its phased particle cannon, continuing with its one-shot, one-kill ratio as it tore through the stunned Imperial fleet. Harry stood up from his console, though. "Maris, take the weapons?"

She slid into his seat without hesitation and he kissed her cheek. "Where are you going?" Celeste asked.

"Juno, take a pass by that super star destroyer. Don't fire on it, though."

"Where are you going?" Leia said, echoing Celeste's question.

"This was too well coordinated," Harry said. "So I'm going to go meet the man in charge. Don't worry too much if you see anything strange. Remember, with Celeste, the bonds are complete. I'll be back soon."

With that, he disappeared with nary even a pop.

"Well, he didn't say anything about shooting the rest of the ships," Maris said. She bounced in her seat. "I love the guns on this thing!"

In the void, a figure appeared in space without armor or a suit. Only as a turbolaser canon blast seared through space a hundred feet away did the energy of the blast cause the bubble around him to become briefly visible.

The figure began accelerating toward the nineteen kilometer long _Executor_-class star dreadnaught that seemed to be commanding the fleet. All around Harry, TIE-fighters and X-Wing fighters spit death at each other while massive war machines broke ranks to try and detect and evade the _Rogue Shadow_.

Harry continued through the void, secure in the fact that between his small size and his Runic shield, he was relatively safe. He could have apparated into the dreadnaught, but without a clear image of the interior he decided it was too risky. Instead, when he reached the command tower of the ship, he transfigured the outer hull to paper and entered, and then repaired the seal and returned the paper to its original state, layer after layer, until he emerged on an upper observation deck.

Already marines were pouring onto the deck, alerted to his presence. Harry quickly disillusioned himself and then apparated to the opposite side of the deck. While the marines continued to search the deck, he made his way down the narrow stairs on the far side of the deck until he reached the main corridor. From there he could easily see into the bridge itself.

At the very end of the bridge, looking through a wall of viewports at the battle beyond, stood a blue-skinned man with black hair, red eyes, and a white Grand Admiral's uniform. Several men in gray uniforms were clumped around him talking urgently, probably about how easily the _Rogue Shadow_ was tearing through the fleet.

Harry casually walked down the command walkway, noticing the crowded consoles in the pits. The room was lined with storm troopers, fifty at least. But that was not who Harry noticed. Spread at uneven intervals were small, blue-skinned reptilian bipeds bristling with knives and melee weapons.

They were sniffing, and he had no doubt they could smell him.

The blue skin grand admiral turned his head to the nearest of these creatures and nodded before obviously dismissing his officers. He turned calmly and said, "Mr. Potter. Welcome aboard the _Vengeance_."

Harry allowed his disillusionment to fade. Instantly every storm trooper in the room brought their weapons to bear, while the reptilians gathered around the grand admiral.

"You must be Thrawn," Harry said. "I take it the Talisman Project was simply a diversion to get me away from Hoth?"

"Just so," Thrawn said with a nod. "After the debacle at Yavin, the Emperor felt your presence was sufficient to change the course of a battle. And given that I have just lost a quarter of my fleet within minutes of your arrival, I'm inclined to believe this. It is a shame we must kill you—I'd be fascinated to have a conversation with you."

"Quite," Harry said. The door to the command center slammed shut behind him. The air around him shimmered, and without hesitation storm troopers started to fire. The blaster bolts reflected back to the shooters from his shield, and in moments most were dead or wounded. The shimmer started to spark, and moments later it was a ring of fire around him.

The Noghri attacked in a wave, moving faster than normal humans could have hoped. They disintegrated one after the other when they got too close to the fire around Harry. He raised one hand, and with a flash the fire spread out in a ring at the speed of a bullet.

In a split second, he and Thrawn were the only ones on the bridge.

"Impressive," Thrawn whispered. "Not even the Emperor knows you can do such things."

Behind them, the door to the command deck began to thud with the efforts of ship marines to get in. Harry ignored the sound as he walked to Thrawn.

"Your fleet at Hoth has been destroyed to the last ship," Harry said. "And your fleet here will follow."

"Perhaps," Thrawn said. "In the meantime, the leadership of your rebellion has been killed. We intercepted Senator Mothma's ship attempting to leave this system and destroyed it. Our fleet at Correllia reported some time ago that Garm Bel Iblis's personal command ship was destroyed as well. And since only twelve fighters escaped Hoth, I feel confident that we killed Bail Organa. You might have destroyed our fleets, but we have destroyed your Rebellion."

Harry grieved for his wife's father. He walked toward the still calm and composed Grand Admiral. "You and your Emperor made one fatal error, Thrawn. You didn't get me."

"I admit there was a miscalculation on the part of the Emperor for your ability to survive. We were, both of us, fairly convinced that you would not survive the Talisman. May I ask what happened?"

"I destroyed the talisman, and have bonded with Celeste Morne. She is my fifth and final wife."

"Congratulations, I suppose," Thrawn said. "A rather barbaric custom, having multiple mates, but I understand your origins go back many, many years."

"You can say that," Harry agreed. He continued to walk until he was only a foot or two from Thrawn. "I was just going to destroy this ship, but I think I have another use for it. But in the meantime, where is the Emperor?"

"He's on Imperial Center, of course," Thrawn said.

"I don't think so," Harry said. "He's afraid of me. He knows what I can do to him, especially now that I am at full power."

"I cannot control what you believe," Thrawn said with a shrug. "I can only speak the truth."

"We shall see," Harry said.

Even Thrawn was startled by the speed with which Harry latched his hand to the Chiss's forehead. The elegant figure bent back and grunted in effort and pain as Harry brutally invaded his mind. There was no strategy, no tactics. Just sheer, brute-force power ripping through the highly disciplined and intelligent mind of Grand Admiral Thrawn.

He let go, and the Chiss fell to the deck gasping. "Quite unpleasant," he said, ever the professional.

"A second Death Star?" Harry asked. "How could he get it built so fast? The first took twenty years."

"A prototype was already built in the Maw," Thrawn said, not hesitating now that the secret was out. "They used that as the platform to speed construction. And when it is done, the Emperor will hunt you down and destroy you."

"I bet he will." Harry looked out the viewports. Star destroyers were now breaking formation entirely to escape the black death of the _Rogue Shadow_. He smiled grimly. "You have an interesting mind, Thrawn. Your plan was very effective. You emulated my attack plan against Dantooine, didn't you?"

"It worked very well," Thrawn confirmed.

"Yes. Well, I'm sorry we don't have more time to talk. Thank you, by the way, for the ship. I'll make good use of it by ramming it down Palpatine's throat."

With that, Thrawn disappeared, only to appear directly outside the viewport of the _Vengeance_. His eyes bulged and his face expanded as the vacuum began the quick, painful process of ending his life.

Harry walked to the center of the bridge, sat down, and began to concentrate. A sphere of light formed around him, and then like the fire shot out at incredible speed. The light encompassed the entire super star destroyer, until at the end all nineteen kilometers were enmeshed in it.

When it passed, the crew and compliment of over three hundred thousand men and women found themselves in space around the ship, their faces fixed in silent screams of pain and terror as they died.

Harry stood on shaky legs and walked to the communications panel. He manually overrode the Imperial frequencies and found the Rebel one. Broadcasting in the clear, he said, "This is Harry Potter to all Alliance ships. I have just gained control of Thrawn's command ship. The admiral and the rest of the crew are dead. I understand that the other members of the Alliance High Council are dead. As the surviving member, I am hereby taking command of all Alliance assets. If those members of the fleet are on a ship too damaged to battle, prepare to transfer to this ship. If your ship is reparable, then start repairing. _Rogue Shadow_, please finish mopping up the last of the enemy ships and then come aboard. We have some planning to do. Potter out."

With that done, he walked back across the command deck and stared out the viewport at the bodies of all the people he killed. A moment later, he turned and vomited.

No matter his power, murder never sat easily on the conscience of Harry Potter.


	39. Bonus DLOL Conclusion

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Picking up the Pieces**

They wouldn't look at him.

Wherever Harry went, soldiers and officers alike averted their eyes in a combination of awe, and in most cases, fear.

Harry Potter personally killed over three hundred thousand crewmen of the _Vengeance_. The Alliance personnel could see the bodies clumped haphazardly at the gravitation high spots around the _Vengeance_ still, since they did not have the resources to collect those bodies while at the same time trying to treat their thousands upon thousands of wounded. Clouds of dead bodies frozen in the vacuum of space danced stiffly around the gravity points of the nineteen kilometer long dreadnought.

Harry was not surprised by the reaction—even his wives moved around him carefully, as if afraid of him. Through the bonds he felt their concern and confusion. How could one man kill so many? How could he live with himself while not becoming dark?

They didn't know that in his many wars fought over the eons, the number of deaths on his conscience numbered more than the worst tyrants in history. The blood on his hands could drown whole worlds.

So he did not give the Alliance time to truly ponder this leader who could wipe out whole fleets seemingly with little more than a thought. He found that Admiral Ackbar of Mon Calamari still lived and placed the being in charge of repairing and assembling the remnants of the Rebel Fleet. Survivors still able to fight were transferred off the damaged or destroyed remnants of the Rebel fleet to the _Vengeance_ and began training to familiarize themselves with the super star destroyer.

He sent his wives on a solo mission to Corellia to see if any of the fleet there survived, and to recall them to Mon Calamari if so.

The decisions were easy—the execution was difficult. But Harry was always there, answering questions, suggesting and guiding until things started to move the way he needed them to move. When newly promoted General Han Solo compared notes with his Naval equivalent in Ackbar, the two discovered at least three occasions where Harry was actually, physically in two places at once.

After two straight days without sleep, Harry finally handed command over to Ackbar and sought shelter in Admiral Thrawn's personal quarters.

The Chiss had lived in relatively Spartan conditions, with the only luxury being an art collection second to none. Harry ignored it all as he collapsed into bed. He fell immediately into his occlumency exercises to clamp down on the harsh emotions that threatened to boil over. He was there for almost an hour when he heard the door to the command suite foyer open and felt the approach of his fifth and final wife. He opened his eyes and watched as she entered the master suite.

Celeste no longer wore her old clothing, but instead wore clothing of a similar cut, but made of black and gray colors. Still, her beautiful stomach was left bare, and her bosom heaved enticingly with each breath. She was breath-taking, as were all his wives.

She stopped at the foot of the bed and looked at him. "Where are your sisters?" he asked.

"They are with Leia and her brother, Luke was his name? Both have lost loved ones. I have met with the last surviving Jedi Master, a man named Obi-Wan. The other masters—Yoda and It'kla, perished at Hoth with most of their padawans. It was an enlightening yet heart breaking discussion."

"I bet."

She pulled off her arm-length sleeves, then unhitched her top and let it fall to the floor, exposing her large, perfectly formed breasts. She then pulled down her pants until she stood before him naked. "Do you remember me now?" she said without smiling.

"I never forgot," Harry said.

"You have been apart from your wives for two days. You led me to believe you drew strength from us. Why then are you here alone?"

He stood from the bed and walked around it until he stood before her, looking directly into her eyes. She was tall for a woman, easily as tall as he was, and her beauty made him light headed.

"They needed time to accept what I could do," he said. "Even in war, to kill so many is a great shock."

She looked back at him, serious and beautiful, and saw into his soul as surely as he could see into hers. "You've done it before."

"I have."

"You do not feel guilt or anguish," she said. She reached up a hand and pressed it against his cheek. "You feel only sadness. Why?"

For an answer, Harry willed his clothes away, and when he was as nude as her he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed. He began kissing her, luxuriating in the feel of her incredible body and pouring magic into her until she was gripping his hair and moaning in pleasure. Only then did he make love to her, pouring his grief into his love.

He was not surprised when moments later the others arrived, drawn by his passion. Wordlessly, a red-eyed Leia stripped off her robes, as did Maris, Juno and Mara. Harry said nothing as he welcomed each into the bed. None of them said anything as the bed widened to accommodate them. He made love to them all, again and again, as the minutes turned into hours.

When finally they stepped, Harry sat up and the others formed a circle around him on the bed, holding hands. He bowed his head a little, feeling Leia's grief and the pain the others felt at the loss of so many friends on Hoth.

"When I was a young man," he began, "on my second life, but still within my initial span of years with my first wives, a genetically engineered madman began to conquer our world. He was frightened of my power, and so as a threat he sent an assassin who killed my first-born daughter. Her name was Celena. She had almost white-blonde hair like her mother, and she liked to whisper secrets in my ear. Of course, the secret of a two-year old was usually just her making funny sounds, but it made her so happy."

He looked up and saw all five had moisture in their eyes, sensing his grief.

"I went mad after that," he explained. "And for the next few years, I and my friends killed millions of the Great Khan's army. We terrified the world with our power, and the resulting backlash got all my people killed. Our whole race was virtually extinguished. But before that, I killed millions with my power; soldiers and civilians alike. Two lives later, I was summoned to find an Empire spanning a hundred worlds threatening the new home for Mages. And again, I led a force that wiped out millions, most by my own hand. Over the years, I've killed so many people I couldn't even tell you the number. Always in the course of war, and never gratuitously. But I've killed. Even in this life, I've killed in cold blood. And I've come to accept that there are times when killing is necessary. After lifetimes of guilt, I've learned that guilt can be self-destructive. So it is not guilt I feel. Just sadness that so many people have to die. That our lives are so short."

He looked at Leia. "I am so sorry, Leia. For you, and for Luke. Han told me Jekria did not survive the bombardment."

"Hardly anyone survived," she said with a sniff.

Harry nodded, and then looked from one face to the other. "Each of you brings your own painful experiences. Leia, you watched your father's crew die by mine and my men's hands while we served the empire. You watched your world shattered. Juno—you told me of the Bombing of Callos, in which on Vader's orders you led a bombing that extinguished an entire species. Maris—in your brush with darkness you killed hundreds of Imperials and almost killed Bail Organa. Mara, you were actually an assassin. And Celeste—you unleashed horrors on hundreds of thousands. And yet, all five of you are pure and untainted by true darkness. The darkness made all of you shine the brighter. Please know that no matter how much blood is on my hands, I kill because I must. Never because I enjoy it. The moment the darkness begins to consume my soul is the moment our bonds fail, and I will die."

The five said nothing at first, absorbing his words thoughtfully. Finally, Mara said, "Harry, just how powerful are you now?"

"How powerful is the Force?" he asked. "It is not something you can measure. But it is likely I'm the most powerful being in the galaxy at the moment. And after a ceremony I will ask you perform on me, I will be even more powerful. When the fleet is ready, we're going to destroy the Emperor."

"And then what?" Juno asked.

"And then, we're going to help the people of the galaxy restore their democratic government, and then we are going to find a world to live in and rebuild the Magus race. If you'll come with me, we can make a world together. We can raise daughters as beautiful and stunning as their mothers. We can raise sons who take the best part of their mothers and learn what true courage means. We'll grow old and happy together, and in the fullness of time we will all pass into magic together. If you'll come with me."

"Like we have a choice," Mara huffed. "At this point, I can't imagine _not_ being with you."

Harry smiled at the fiery red head. "I'm glad. Because right now, everyone in this fleet is as afraid of me as they are the Emperor. When we are done helping them, we are going to have to step back from them and let them decide their own fate. I will never allow myself to become a dictator, and their fear is not something I care to live with."

Celeste took his hand. "As it should be," she agreed.

"And the ceremony you mentioned?" Juno asked.

"Body runes. It was a magical armament created by the last mages in our war against the Q. It will give me additional protections in case the Emperor has any surprises."

"And he will," Mara said. "He always does."

~~LL~~

The remnants of Alliance Command gathered aboard the _Vengeance_ in nervous silence: Han Solo, promoted by necessity to General of the Army; Ackbar, now admiral of the entire fleet; Obi-Wan Kenobi, reinstated as a general. Kyle Katarn and Jan Ors now served as co-generals in charge of Alliance Intelligence. Harry's wives were all there, even Celeste Morne who found herself out of time and struggling to find her place.

Luke Skywalker was now a colonel and commanded an entire flight of X-wings, as well as serving as Solo's deputy commander.

There should have been more. Mon Mothma, Bail Organa and Garm Bel Iblis should have been there. Instead, Colonel Tira Pendara represented the remnant of Garm's Corellian fleet. The Lo'gaan family should have been there—Drake, his wife Ekria, and their beautiful daughter Dekria-who for a day at least—loved Luke Skywalker and was loved in return. Qu Rahn, a lost knight who returned to the fold was dead, as was Ylenic It'kla. Chase Piru, who as a padawan saved many Jedi younglings, died before they even left the surface of Hoth, while her companion Seddwia sat near Olee Starstone and Obi-Wan with a lost, hopeless expression.

Most of all, though, the absence of Yoda could be felt most acutely.

Instead, the survivors of Hoth and the Imperial counter-strike all stared at Harry waiting in expectant silence.

Harry met their stares steadily. "The Emperor has built a second Death Star," he began without preamble. "I was able to pull all necessary data from Thrawn's mind. Originally it was to be twice as large as the first, but because of the threat I posed they used a test platform to jumpstart construction. So it is actually somewhat smaller. It was the Emperor's intention to use the Talisman to lure me away from Hoth, while launching simultaneous attacks against Mon Calamari and Corellia, which in turn was to beak the back of the Alliance and prevent us from even finding out about the Death Star, much less attack it. These strikes constituted nearly forty percent of Imperial strength in the galaxy. The loss of the Hoth and Mon Calamari fleets has hurt the Empire significantly. The Emperor did not expect any of us to survive, and is now scrambling his fleets around the Death Star, where he has personally taken up residence."

"Where is it located?" Han asked.

"A small moon called Endor. It is protected by a planetary shield, but that will be easily taken care of. But the problem will be the fleet of ships he has around it. By now I'd be surprised if he has less than a thousand ships there."

Those around the conference table shuffled uncomfortably. Ackbar said, "Admiral Potter, we have less than a hundred ships. And of those, only a handful are capable of challenging a star destroyer."

"I know." Harry looked around the room. "Our ship, the _Rogue Shadow_, has production facilities on board. We are making the torpedoes you saw used during the battle of Mon Calamari. We will distribute torpedoes to each of the X-Wings in General Solo's flights of X-wing and B-wing fighters. These are one-shot, one-kill weapons capable of destroying any vessel, even the _Vengeance_. I will distribute as many torpedoes as I can produce. But be warned—I will remote activate any torpedoes left after the battle to ensure they are not studied afterward."

"I've never seen technology like those torpedoes," Ackbar said. "Where did you find them?"

"No one in this galaxy has seen them," Harry said, "because I built them. They are based on technology that never developed in this galaxy, but was well established in my old one. And that is why I will not allow these weapons to be replicated. The _Rogue Shadow_ also has a primary weapon you have seen that is a one-shot, one-kill weapon. I will expand our own compliment of torpedoes as well. I believe I could fit another hundred or so into our existing 100-shot magazine."

"How can your ship hold so much weaponry?" Ackbar demanded. He had never actually met Potter in person and was having difficulty accepting anything the seemingly young man said.

"Because the interior is ten hundred times larger than the exterior," Harry said. "I magically enlarged it, and at the same time shrank the missile compartment. The missiles resume normal size as they enter the launch tube. And you've seen the proof of my words."

"And you are unwilling to share this technology? Why?" The Mon Cal said.

"The torpedoes I will not share because, frankly, this galaxy is not developed enough to handle the responsibility safely. As for the expansion of my ship—that is not technology I can share. It is magic. A pure application of power that no one but I and my five wives could hope to accomplish. Understand, Admiral, that I did not want to be the leader of this Alliance. I do not have the emotional investment in this galaxy that Mon, Bail and Garm did. When the Empire is destroyed and we have re-established your republic, I will step aside. But until then, I have more experience leading armed forces than every officer in this galaxy combined. I will ensure that our lost friends are avenged, and I will ensure the Emperor and his Empire are destroyed."

"Even with these torpedoes, we will still be vastly outnumbered and outgunned," Ackbar pointed out. "They will have more ships than we have weapons to destroy them."

"By then, I will be on the Death Star and the Emperor will be dead," Harry said. "The Emperor uses the Force to coordinate his military forces. With his death, that will throw the fleet into momentary confusion. We will take advantage of that moment by luring the fleet closer to the Death Star. When I destroy it, the explosion should take most of the Imperial Fleet with it."

"How are you going to destroy it?" Luke asked.

"Magic," Harry said.

"You're that powerful?" Han asked.

"I am."

"It sounds as if you don't need us at all," Ackbar said.

Harry shrugged. "What would it mean to the galaxy if I won the battle by myself? It would be exchanging one tyrant for another. But you see—I have no intention for taking credit for anything I do. As far as the galaxy is concerned, a force of Alliance soldiers and ships led by a Jedi hero from the last war, and the Jedi son of another, will bravely take on impossible odds and overcome the power of the Empire in the name of freedom. Skywalker and Kenobi will once again save the day. Each of you has the power of hope. That is power not even I have. You here in this room are the future of the Galaxy, if you but step forward and take it. All I offer is a chance to even the odds."

"You don't want to rule the galaxy?" Ackbar, ever the devil's advocate, asked.

"I don't think I could stand the responsibility," Harry said honestly. "After a few hundred thousand years, Admiral, one grows to dislike people. I like individuals. I love my wives. I like and Han and Luke. In fact, I like or respect all of you around this table. But people as a whole—I don't like them. I could never be good leader of the galaxy, because I don't love it like you do. I see in your eyes, admiral, not just a love of your planet, but of the galaxy as a whole. You fight for the freedom of all sentient beings. Han and the rest are the same way. You will be better leaders of the Republic than I ever will be, because you love it. I don't."

"So then why do you fight?"

The question came surprisingly from Obi-Wan Kenobi, who sat watching patiently. "It is a question I've often pondered," the old Jedi continued. "You were pulled into this life against your will. Your first wives were brutally murdered. So why do you fight, Harry Potter?"

Harry smiled without humor. "Because it's what I do, Ben. It's what I've always done, life after life, eon after eon. I fight the good fight because that's all I know how to do. And when the fighting is over, I go home to my wives and live as best I can."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Very well, then, Admiral. I think since you wish to have no role in the Republic, you should excuse us. For my part, I have faith in your ability to win this battle. And because of that faith, I believe it is now time for those of us who do love the galaxy to sit down and decide what happens next."

Harry stood with a nod. "I agree. Know that if you need any assistance, I will make myself available." He looked at his wives, especially Leia. "And I know that you five have a stake in this as well. Stay and help."

With that, he left the conference room and walked onto the command deck of the Super Star Destroyer. He paused as he caught a familiar face. "Crix Madine," he said, smiling in spite of himself. "General, no less. How are you?"

"I've been better," Madine admitted. The last year had visibly aged the man, leaving an abundance of gray in his hair. "We lost admiral Nogdra in the first moments of the battle here," he said.

Harry's smile weakened. "I gathered he perished. What happened?"

"They swarmed us in numbers we couldn't repulse. Nogdra led a thrust to try and break through the blockade for the rest of the fleet to escape, but I think even he knew it was hopeless. His ship was torn to pieces before he even got close to the enemy lines."

Harry nodded somberly. "But he died trying. He would never give up, not while he had breath."

"Never," Madine agreed. "I heard of a fifth wife. It's true, then?"

"Yes."

"So you're at your full power?"

"I am. And in a few days, I'm going to show Palpatine exactly what it means to harm a Mage."

"Good," Madine said with a firm nod. "It's been a long time coming."

"I couldn't agree more," Harry said.

"And then?" Madine asked. "The Empire will not end because the Emperor dies. Who will we kill next?"

"No one," Harry said. "My job is to level the playing field. Once that's done, I'm going to find a nice empty world—maybe that one that Kyle dragged the weapons designer out of. I'm going to remake it into something livable, and I'm going to start a family."

"A nice dream," Madine said with a distant expression. "Do you think the Princess will be happy to be so far removed from the center of the galaxy?"

The question startled Harry. "She said she would come."

"Of course she did. But will she be happy?"

"I don't know," Harry admitted. "Probably not. All plans are subject to change, and none of my wives are slaves. If she wants to continue to serve the Republic, I'll never stop her."

"Something to consider, at any rate," Madine said. "I'll be on board, of course, in any capacity you need me."

"Thank you, Crix. You were my first ally in this galaxy, and you've been a good friend. I hope to see you after."

"I'm sure you will." With that, Madine nodded and left the command deck. Harry walked down the center of the deck, conscious of the many eyes on him, until he stood at the exact spot Thrawn stood before Harry killed him.

Outside, the orbit of Mon Calamari was littered with the corpses of dead ships, hundreds of them with both imperial starbursts and Alliance flames. The carnage was mind-boggling, especially considering the huge crews the ships carried. He remembered other ships from his past, and thought it curious how this galaxy required such massive complements for their ships compared to those of the old Federation, or the Unified Confederation that grew out of the Federation's ashes a thousand years after.

He turned and looked back at the ship, and the men and women trying to make it work. The ship was cold and sterile, just like all imperial ships. In the Federation of his third life, captains often went out of their way to make even militarized ships look warm and comfortable. White or pastel walls. The occasional plant. The ships themselves were white, giving them a sense of purity of purpose that seemed to be missing from the Empire.

Things were so different here.

"Harry?" He blinked in surprise, confused to see Leia standing before him with a concerned expression.

"What's wrong?"

"I was going to ask you," she said. She stepped aside and Harry saw the interior of the bridge was now a light, pastel blue. Moving mosaics of clouds and birds drifted lazily over the walls. The stunned crew were clad in beautifully tailored Confederation naval uniforms.

Harry turned and looked out the viewports and saw that not only was the _Vengeance_ a brilliant, pure white against the backdrop of space, but so were all the other Alliance ships.

He felt Leia's hand on his shoulders. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"Lost in memories," he admitted. "I didn't mean to do this."

She turned and smiled at the shocked crew. By then the newly formed Executive Council had emerged and looked concerned as well. "I don't know, I like it. Did you come up with the uniforms yourself?"

"No, they were the uniforms from a past life," he admitted.

"Still, I like it," she said. She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, everything will work out."

"Then why do I suddenly feel so worried?" he asked softly.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Hell Hath No Fury**

The fleet was assembled. The command hierarchy was established. Over the next week the crews were trained and fighters were armed. With the delay of establishing the line of battle, the _Rogue Shadow_ was able to produce an additional three hundred torpedoes, two hundred of which were distributed throughout Solo's fighter squadrons.

With the information ripped from Thrawn's mind, Harry had the schematics from the shield generator on the surface. There would be no attempt to land ground forces—they didn't have any troops to land in any event. The massacre of Hoth eliminated more than three quarters of the Alliance ground force capabilities.

Instead, the _Rogue Shadow_ would go in under cloak and eliminate the shield generator. The assembled fleet would then make a short jump through hyperspace until they reached the Death Star and the fleet that protected it, and battle would be joined.

That was the plan, anyway.

Harry joined his wives in the cockpit of the Mage-enhanced ship and waited for the signal from Ackbar, who would have tactical command of the fleet while Harry was out of contact. "Nervous?" he asked.

"A little," Leia and Mara both admitted.

Juno nodded and Maris wiped her sweating palms on her slacks. Only Celeste seemed calm and collected. "Our fate is in the hands of the Force," she said somberly.

"Remind me to tell you how I created the Force someday," Harry said with a smile.

The signal came. "We're ready to go," Juno said.

"Then let's move out."

The _Shadow_ disappeared from both the naked eye and sensors of the Alliance fleet. They appeared minutes later from hyperspace over the blue-green orb of Endor. "It looks a lot like Earth," Harry said.

The other wives smiled at each other, concerned over the strange distracted behavior of their husband. "I've found the generator," Juno said. "We're going in."

Through the viewports, they saw the myriad twinkling skies that blinked around the half-finished form of the second Death Star. Thrawn's estimates were, if anything, low. "Twelve hundred forty three capital ships," Leia said as she finished her passive scan. "Over four hundred _Imperial-I _and _Imperial-II_ class star destroyers. These aren't empty hulks, either. Our sensors are detecting full complements on each ship."

Harry nodded. Millions of men and women were about to die today, starting with the poor souls manning the shield generator.

"We're in range," she said.

"Shoot a simple nuke," he said. "No need to waste our big weapons."

"Right." While still cloaked, a nuclear-tipped torpedo shot out of the ship almost as soon as they were in the atmosphere. In the shield generator housing, alarms started to blare and bleary-eyed officers and enlisted men scrambled to alert stations, but it was too late. The twenty kiloton device was relatively small by inter-ship combat standards, but for a tactical strike, it provided sufficient energy.

The mushroom cloud exploded up toward the Death Star as the generator vaporized under the point-blank nuclear strike. "Send the signal," Harry said from the weapons station. "And let's start killing ships."

The Imperials knew something was happening immediately. The Emperor was many things, but he was not a fool. Ships began to change their orbital position as they adjusted formation to better protect the Death Star.

The Rebel fleet emerged from hyperspace just as the _Rogue Shadow_ emerged from the atmosphere of the moon. "All ships, this is Potter," Harry said. "Concentrate enhanced torpedoes on the star destroyers. Designate your targets—do not waste munitions. Leave the smaller ships for the fleet."

"Copy that," came the terse voice of Han Solo. The channel remained open as Solo continued to give orders to his pilots. Harry half listened as Juno, among the finest pilots alive, took the _Shadow_ into the thick of battle.

Harry used the phased particle cannon on the first ships to come into their sights—a _Nebulon-B_ frigate and a pair of heavy cruisers. But as soon as he spotted his first star destroyer, he painted it with a targeting laser to warn the rest of the fighters, and launched a torpedo.

The mile-wide sphere of light left nothing of the star destroyer but silvery dust. Nearby, he saw another sphere envelope another star destroyer, and another. The Imperial Fleet, having heard of but never seen such weapons, started to break formation under the onslaught. However, through the Force Harry could sense the Emperor's will begin to exert itself. The ships closed formations and continued fighting, taking a toll on the Alliance fleet despite their heavy losses.

"He's here," Celeste breathed. "I've not felt such power from a Sith before."

"Yeah, he's a nasty bugger," Harry admitted. He fired two more torpedoes.

Juno broke through the Imperial line and brought their ship back around for another pass. Around them, a few fighters did the same, at least those with torpedoes. They brought with them a veritable wall of TIE-fighters.

"Not all fighters are getting their torpedoes off," Mara said.

"We can," Harry said. He fired both their cannon and the torpedoes, destroying ships hundreds of times the size of the _Shadow_ with impunity. They heard distant thuds as TIEs trailed them and fired on their runically enhanced shields.

"Ignore the fighters," Harry advised. "Nothing short of a Death Star blast will get through. Just keep finding me Star Destroyers."

There were fewer white spheres as the Alliance exhausted its supply of torpedoes, or as fighters carrying the weapons died one after the other. In the center of the Alliance formation, the _Vengeance _stabbed deep into the Imperial fleet, as large as any twenty star destroyers and as lethal as at least that many. It made quick work of the smaller assault cruisers and frigates that were all that remained of the front lines.

Even so, Ackbar's new command started taking damage.

Harry fired off the last torpedo. "Solo, weapons count," Harry said.

"All weapons fired or destroyed," Solo said. "We've already got fifty percent casualties among our fighters and we've lost three capital ships. But we've taken out ninety two percent of the enemy star destroyers. It's just the hundreds of smaller ships we have to worry about."

"Good job. All ships, the _Shadow _will finish off the Star Destroyers_._ Concentrate your fire on the smaller capital ships." Harry said. "Admiral Ackbar, Han, we're going into the Death Star after we take out the last Star Destroyer. If the fleet drops below fifty percent fighting capability, retreat. The _Rogue Shadow_ has enhanced defenses that will allow us to get out regardless. Good luck."

"May the Force be with you!" Ackbar called.

"And with you, Admiral."

Juno, having heard, was already taking the _Shadow_ toward the nearest surviving Star Destroyer. Harry fired, and once again the phased particle canon tore through the armor to the hypermatter reactor. If the Empire had ever developed transporter technology, they could have easily shielded against the cannon. For while a phased particle canon was incredibly powerful, it was essentially a beam of superluminal particles partially phased into hyperspace, increasing its firepower a thousand fold.

In fact, he suspected the Empire could have shielded against the weapon within a year given research.

He did not intend to give them that year.

He fired again, and again, destroying the star destroyers with impunity while the hundreds of small Imperial ships opened battle with the Rebel fleet. He ignored the flares of dying X-wing, B-Wing and A-Wing fighters and concentrated on taking out the last two star destroyers.

"That's it," he said with a deep breath. "Take us in."

Juno was looking back at him, smiling bravely. "It's not my first time flying into a Death Star," she said.

"Hopefully it'll be your last," Harry said, smiling back. "Let's go."

The _Rogue Shadow_ cloaked again and weaved flawlessly through the battle debris and fighting ships, easily losing the TIE fighter pursuit.

The previous night, he explained his personal plan to his wives, and all agreed to his reasoning. The Sith obviously had knowledge of soul magic to a certain extent, and he did not intend to give Palpatine a chance to escape in any capacity. Even though _Rogue Shadow_ could easily destroy the Death Star, he had to face the Emperor personally to make sure the man stayed dead.

They flew directly toward the northern hemispheric command deck were every single one of them could sense the powerful, dark presence of the Emperor. Harry left his station and stepped to the spot between Mara and Juno as he stared at a massive tower that protruded from the surface. "So like him to sit atop a tower," he muttered. "He's obviously compensating for something."

Mara snickered. Juno, though, was staring at his hand. "Harry, what is that the rune we drew? I thought they were supposed to be invisible?"

Harry blinked and looked down. On his left hand was the old Ravenclaw tattoo from when he first came into his power. Around the tattoo, his skin seemed to be swirling with runic tattooes. "That's strange," he said. "You're right, they're suppose to be invisible unless activated. For whatever reason, my subconscious mind is activating all my defensive runes."

"What do you mean?" Mara asked.

"Like I told you, in the last war we developed runes to protect our bodies against the Gods. They're power was so overwhelming that unprotected eyes would burn out looking at them. Unprotected skin would burn and vaporize. So we developed these runes to protect and strengthen us." He looked back at the tower. "Palpatine may be even more powerful than I thought. I didn't have a full understanding of power when I served him. I'll have to be careful."

"You'll come back to us?" Mara asked.

He smiled at her. "If I don't, then it won't matter because we'll all be dead." He leaned down and kissed his first and youngest wife passionately, and then quickly made the circuit of all of them, taking strength from the power of the bonds.

When at last he finished, smiling at Celeste as their lips parted, he said, "Stay close."

"We will," Juno promised from the pilot's seat.

With that, Harry apparated to the tower, letting the dark presence of the Emperor guide him.

"Wedge, break right, break right!" Luke called.

"Too late!" came the voice of Luke's friend and fellow pilot. To the naked eye, Wedge Antilles' death was nothing more than a momentary flare. In the Force, it was one of hundreds of brief stabs of pain that signaled the deaths of all those around him.

Luke let the Force guide him as he pulled out from a full squadron of TIEs on his back, only to watch half the squadron explode under the furious fire of a TIE-advanced. "You okay, kid?" came Han Solo's voice.

"Hanging in there. Green squadron is gone."

"Red stripes too," Solo said. "Let's just hope Harry doesn't take too long."

Luke barrel-rolled his X-wing out of a flurry of turbolaser fire from a swarm of TIEs and instead took his ship directly toward one of the heavy assault cruisers pounding away at an Alliance frigate. He felt as much as saw the TIEs following him as he led them directly into the crossfire between the ships.

TIE after TIE died while he weaved his way through, guided by the Force. As soon as he pulled up, he brought his fighter around and strafed the cruiser's turbolaser emplacements, concentrating on the larger guns. He fired steadily until one of the cannons exploded, weakening the barrage and giving the Alliance frigate a chance to fight back.

He did not have time to enjoy his victory, though. He pulled up immediately, rolled and then swept back down onto a squadron of TIEs that had targeted him, but which were not targeting a Y-wing that was also making a strafing run on the same cruiser.

He adjusted his fighter's firing rate and picked them off, one after the other, before they had a chance to take out the Y-wing.

Though the bomber did not have any more of Harry's special torpedoes, it did have a hull full of concussion bombs and let three of them fall onto the already wounded side of the heavy cruiser. The resulting explosion destroyed its weapons placements on that side. The ship's captain, realizing what happened, attempted to roll the ship to bring its other guns to bear, but instead ended up taking a full Alliance broadside directly into its belly. With its shields down and its armor damaged, the assault cruiser cracked its hull, and a moment later the ship exploded.

"Good shooting, Y-53!" Luke called.

A moment later, as the Y-wing pilot was attempting to answer, it was hit directly by a turbolaser blast from an Imperial frigate.

Luke ground his teeth and selected that frigate as his next target.

"_Toprawa_, move to shield the _Alderaan_!"

Admiral Ackbar virtually yelled the command as one of the Alliance fleet's few star destroyers listed to its port side, trailing plumes of vapor under the combined fire of five assault cruisers and frigates.

The _Nebulon-B_ frigate _Toprawa_ moved into the center of the larger formation of Imperial ships, blazing with all weapons to give the _Alderaan_ time to move out of the worst of the fire. Unfortunately, the space was so crowded it had nowhere to go. The Alliance star destroyer moved directly into another Imperial heavy assault cruiser, which itself was engaged with an Alliance cruiser.

The Imperial assault cruiser was 800 meters long, half the size of the larger star destroyer. As the _Alderaan_ slammed into it, the cruiser tore down into the superstructure of the _Alderaan_. A halo of flame flared around the impact point as explosive out gassing ignited, even if only briefly.

Unfortunately ships that large could not simply stop on a credit chit. The _Alderaan_, having greater mass, continued up into the Imperial cruiser, crushing both ships. The fusion reactors aboard the assault cruiser suddenly ruptured and exploded with titanic force, which because of the angle and the fact it was half-embedded in the _Alderaan_, sent the energy of the explosion directly down into the hypermatter reactor of the Alliance star destroyer.

On the bridge of the super star destroyer _Vengeance_, Ackbar sagged as the _Alderaan_ exploded in a massive ball of plasma that enveloped the imperial cruiser and the second Alliance frigate as well. Unlike Potter's weapons, when the light faded the Alliance frigate remained, but it was burning in several places where its armor was weakened. The opportunistic TIE fighters, sensing weakness, began to hit the frigate like carrion eaters taking down an already injured animal.

"Fleet strength is now at seventy percent and dropping," Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi said somberly.

"It was a fool's chance we had to take," Ackbar admitted reluctantly. "I just hope we live to see this battle end."

Harry appeared in the center of a dimly lit chamber that occupied the top level of the tower. He knew from the _Shadow's_ scans that the tower itself could serve as an emergency escape vehicle for the Emperor, should the need arise.

The Emperor himself sat on an ornately carved throne on a raised dais set before a wall-wide view screen. The battle raged in the background, reduced to flashes of red and green light. Around him were clustered his ministers, while behind Harry the Emperor's vaunted crimson guards were already bringing their weapons to bear.

"Harry Potter," the Emperor's voice rang through the chamber, sharp and hateful.

"Hello, Sidius," Harry said. "Long time no see. How's Thrawn doing?"

"How droll," the Emperor said as his pale faced, soulless ministers stepped away from the throne. Harry did not move as the Crimson Guards surrounded him with their Force pikes. "You have become a constant irritation to me, boy."

"Palpatine, I'm two million years old," Harry said. "Compared to me, you're an infant. And I'm here to spank you."

"Are you now?" Palpatine said with a suddenly feral grin.

Harry held up his hand; behind him the twenty imperial guards exploded, all at once. The gore and blood flew back, coating the courtiers who stayed in the background of the chamber. "Yes, I am," Harry said. He stepped forward and waived a hand again. Over the Emperor the air shimmered for a moment.

"Just in case you've mastered soul transference or any other dark rites," Harry said. "When I kill you, I intend your death to be permanent. And when I'm done killing you, I'm going to blow this station to hell."

The Emperor settled back in his seat. "Your overconfidence is your weakness."

"You're being an evil ass is yours," Harry snapped back. He raised both hands, summoning power. The air around him crackled. The grates below his feet melted. Ministers and courtiers alike screamed as his power burned away their skin and melted their eyes.

The Emperor grimaced as he summoned his own not inconsiderable power. It would not be enough, though. There was never a question in Harry's mind over how this would end. He was going to destroy the Emperor so thoroughly not even quarks would remain from the atoms that composed his cells.

When his full power was summoned, he unleashed in a thick beam of white. The explosion of the titanic forces ripped apart the tower. From the _Rogue Shadow_, it appeared as if a torpedo had struck. A sphere of white light blossomed out from the tower.

Juno's quick reflexes took the _Shadow_ back from the ever growing sphere, which at its largest easily measured four kilometers in width. When the light faded, though, somehow the tower remained. While the walls of the tower were gone, the floor of the audience chamber remained.

Harry blinked in shocked surprise. The Emperor remained on his throne, momentarily shocked himself by the power. The moment passed quickly, though, as he threw his head back and started cackling. Harry spun around, but for all intents and purposes it looked as if he were standing on an exposed platform atop the north pole of the Death Star.

Yet he breathed, so a field was keeping air in.

The Emperor continued to cackle madly.

"Okay, I'll admit I'm surprised," Harry said. "What will it take to kill you? Decapitation, insufficient adult diapers? How can you still live after that?"

"Because you are not the only Celestial I found!" the Emperor all but howled. "You fool! Only now do you understand the true power of the Dark Side! Only now do you…"

And like that, the Emperor's head went _splat_. The blood and brains shot out in a nebulous cloud that rose up as if free from gravity. Moments later, the headless body followed. The moment the body rose above ten feet, it instantly froze as it encountered the vacuum of hard space. Harry watched as the body stilled and then started to sink back down toward the surface below as the battlestation's weak gravitational pull captured it.

"Hello, Harry," a familiar voice said.

The runes over his body flared with burning red light. Inside his chest, Harry's heart skipped a beat as a moment of undiluted, primal terror slipped past his occlumency. In the _Rogue Shadow_, all five wives gasped as, for the very first time, they felt their husband's fear thrum through the bond.

Harry slowly turned around to face the voice.

He saw what appeared to be a woman in her late twenties with shoulder-length blond hair and soft brown eyes. She was beautiful—stunningly so—save for the fact that one entire side of her face was burned to cinders. The burn went all the way to the bone, leaving half her face and one arm blackened and skeletal. And yet she moved freely.

"Hello, Amanda," he whispered.

Amanda took another step toward him, swaying her hips—both the healthy one and the skeletal one—in a parody of seduction. She was perfectly nude, and like her face one side of her body was as perfectly proportioned as any human female who ever lived, while the other side was burned and shriveled.

"It's been so long," she purred to him. He did not move as she reached up with a charred, skeletal hand and caressed his cheek. At her touch, the runes on his skin flared from red to white hot. He hissed in pain but did not move.

"What are you doing here, Amanda?" he said.

"What do you think I'm here for?" she asked. All humor fled before an expression of fury made all the more horrifying for her burns. "You did this to me!" she hissed. "You killed us all."

"We didn't start the war," he said.

"But you made sure to finish it, is that it?" she demanded.

"You were wiping us."

"You deserved to be wiped out."

"Why? For trying to help the people of the galaxy?"

"For trying to assume roles that were not yours to fill," she snapped. "That fool should never have summoned you, Harry. I was content to remain at the end of the Universe knowing you were gone forever. But he summoned you, and when you kissed that pretty little Jedi of yours, that fifth wife, I felt you. And I remembered."

She stepped close to him again, so close her one intact breast rubbed against his shirt. "Are you ready to die now, Harry? Are you ready for me to destroy your soul and devour your wives? I'm going to burn this whole galaxy, Harry. Just like I burned our old one. And when I'm done I'm going to throw that damned heartstone of yours directly into the End of All. After all, it's the least I can do for the Forever Mage."

"I can't let you do that, Amanda," Harry said in a resigned, broken voice. "You've still weak from the war and you're injuries. You exhausted yourself to destroy our old galaxy. I'm at the height of my power. I don't need a command module to destroy you. Please don't make me. You're the last of your kind."

Amanda Rogers, the last of the Q, smiled a grim, humorless smile. "You think you can stop me, Harry? Then try."

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: _Acta Deos Numquam Mortalia Fallunt*_**

Amanda Rogers was born on August 14, 2351, in Topeka, Kansas. She remembered every moment of her life, including the safety of her mother's womb and the pain and shock of being exposed to the world as an infant. Though her playmates at school never believed that she remembered the moment of her birth and she finally stopped telling them, her parents did believe her.

"You're special, that's why," her mother would tell her at night with a kind, loving smile. "In your own way, you are the most unique child that has ever been born."

She was seven years old when her parents died. The funnel cloud appeared out of a bright, clear blue sky almost directly over her parent's ranch house. She was playing across the road with her friend Stephanie Itzak, who pointed out the strangely shaped cloud.

Amanda stood on her friend's porch and looked. She could just see her parents step out onto their own porch as the tornado hit. She caught the briefest glimpse of her mother's face. The moment would forever be ingrained in her mind because it was not terror or pain on Delia Rogers' face at the time of her death: it was an expression of sadness and regret. She was looking across the field directly at Amanda when she died.

At eighteen, Amanda had degrees in neurobiology, plasma dynamics and eco-regeneration. Her IQ was estimated to be a whole order of magnitude above even Vulcan norms, much less human ones, though she made sure not to do as well on the tests as she could have.

She was not surprised when Star Fleet Academy began wooing her, seeking to capture the brightest mind in the whole of the Federation. Their promise of an internship on the USS _Enterprise-D_ under the command of one Jean Luc Picard was more than even she could resist.

When she went home to pack for the trip, she paused and stared at the signed poster of Commander William Riker. It was actually a blown up and enhanced image of him giving a speech at their high school after the Battle of Wolf 359 against the Borg. He looked so strong, confident and handsome.

"_Amanda's question deserves an answer, Q_," Captain Picard said in a clipped, angry tone. "_You've made yourself judge, jury, and—if necessary—executioner. By what right do you appoint yourself to this position_?"

Q lounged comfortably in Captain Picard's personal quarters aboard the _Enterprise_. Amanda found out to her horror that the Q killed her parents, who themselves were Q who took human form. And now this god-like being was threatening her life because of: "_Superior morality._"

Picard huffed much like Scrooge at the idea of Christmas. "_I recall how you used your superior morality when we first encountered you. You put us on trial for the crimes of humanity_."

"_The jury is still out, Picard. Make no mistake_."

The captain shook his head while Amanda stood still next to him, humbled and thrilled that this great man would defend her against a being who in essence was a god. "_Your arrogant pretense to being the moral guardians of the universe strikes me as a bit pale today. You have shown no evidence that you are guided by a superior moral code - by any code whatsoever. You may be nearly omnipotent—I won't deny your parlor tricks are impressive—but morality? No, I don't see it. I don't acknowledge it. I would put human morality against the Q's any day_."

It was a brilliant response, and Amanda could see in the elder Q—no, she could feel in the essence of his power—that he had no true answer to the brilliant, piercing truth of this mere human being.

In that one moment, Amanda loved Jean Luc Picard.

It was all for naught, though. She was Q, born of Q who took human form out of boredom and a need to understand life. Though born into human form, she had the essence and power of the Q. And with that power, the Contiuum informed her, came responsibility and duty.

Never use your power again, or join the Continuum.

Whether it was fate or Q himself, when Riker and the others were threatened with death, she had to act. Q appeared immediately while Picard looked at her with an expression so very similar to that of her birth mother when the Tornado hit. "_I couldn't let all those people die,"_ she said softly, knowing she had condemned herself to a loss of her humanity.

A million years later, Amanda Rogers screamed in an agony that tore planets from their orbits and made stars go nova. Around her, the Continuum burned, ripped apart by the unleashed primal energies of the Universe itself. The walls of creation trembled and failed as the Mage command ships attacked the Q in their home.

Amanda, among the youngest and weakest of the Q, fled the annihilation of her race. But she did not escape without scars. She fled into the void, hoping the cold of space would dull the fire. But she was a god. Q did not heal, for Q were not ever supposed to be injured. Not like she was injured. The thousands of Mage command ships moved on, and within them she could feel the mages not celebrating, but weeping. For as evil as their actions, even they could feel the true horror of the Universe's first children dying in the fires of creation and destruction. If only they knew that by destroying the Continuum, they had halved the life of the Universe itself.

In all her years of existence, never had Amanda felt the rage she felt at that moment. The agony of the fires that still burned on her face and body she poured into rage powerful enough to cause whole solar systems to explode.

She reached out with her power, stretching herself in a way she never had, and grasped onto the Large Megallanic Cloud galaxy. She poured her rage and pain into the universe itself, erasing the laws of physics that the lesser species depended on to understand the existence.

In her superior morality, Amanda Rogers brought the neighboring galaxy slamming into the Milky Way with sufficient speed and force to utterly destroy both. The cosmic storm of destruction hurt even her, exasperating the agony she already experienced from the destruction of the Continuum.

She saw the Mage ships moving planets out of the way of the fires and plasma storms she unleashed. She wanted to stop them, but her last orgasmic spree of destruction left no power with which to strike. She struck anyway, burning her very life energy to destroy almost all of the mage ships save two—a major and minor ship.

She howled in rage when she realized the major ship survived because _he_ was aboard. Harry Potter, the one being who taught the Mages how to strike back. The one she wanted to kill the most was now completely out of her power.

There is a place only Q can go. A place at the End of all things. A place where the walls of the Universe are weakened. Around her is the absolute black of final entropy. This place drains even Q, for this is the end of existence, after all galaxies have fallen apart and all stars have lost their fire. After all matter breaks down and the universe dies, there is this last place.

Amanda floats in the void of true emptiness, her presence alone preventing space from dropping to absolute zero energy. And through the weakened walls of the Universe, her mind alone can perceive another Universe just beyond. Like the universe that created her kind and saw it die, she can sense emptiness and weakness from the other universe as well. The two are both approaching the end of their cycles of existence and are drifting toward each other.

The Q often spoke of the Omniverse, but it was a misnomer. They were, like all beings, confined to their individual universe. Though they could hop dimensions and travel from the beginning of the Universe to the End, they could not leave the Universe itself, for they _were_ the universe. The Q's very energy was directed from the same primordial mix that gave rise to the Universe itself. The act of a Q trying to pierce the walls of the Universe would trigger another Big Bang, destroying that Q, the Universe, and all within it. It was the ultimate suicide, an act no Q had ever contemplated.

Until now.

Time does not exist in this place. Time is a measure of effect: the decay of an isotope; the death and birth of an organism; the consumption of matter through the process of entropy from one thing to another to another. In this place, there is no matter. There are no organisms. There are no isotopes to decay. There is nothing but Amanda. Q. And she burns with pain.

From the far distant past, though, she senses a call. An invocation. A curse. Someone is calling for her, someone with power enough to reach beyond his own time even if only in spirit. And from this call she hears a name she has hated for all time.

Harry Potter.

She answers the call; with a thought she moves from the End of All Things to Imperial Center five billion years before, and stands in human form before the Emperor of the Coruscant Galaxy. She does not care that her human form is nude, nor that her human form reflects the damage her true form received from the war.

The Emperor is an evil little man, dripping with dark power impressive for a mortal, but still just a mortal. He smiles at her with metallic teeth and orange eyes. "Welcome, Great Q," he cackles. "I thank you for answering my call."

"You called for the enemy of Harry Potter," she says. She sees a book in his hands and recognizes it as Potter's grimoire—the book of his life as recorded by all the Lady Ravenclaws through history. It is from this book that the dark little man has gained knowledge of her existence.

"I summoned Potter back to life, and in my arrogance thought to control him," the Emperor tells her. "And now he threatens the peace and stability of this whole galaxy. I do not have the power to destroy him."

"No, you do not," she said. "Not any more. He has become more than he was supposed to be. But I will destroy him."

She stares at Harry Potter now, whole and untouched and young as when the world was new. The fire still burns within her from when he, as an old man, struck the Continuum with Mage magic and burned the walls of creation about her people's ears. He is beautiful and terrible, glowing with the sum total power of his entire race throughout history. The runes on his body flare against the presence of her power, making him glow almost as much as she does in her true form.

He does not even realize his own power, for despite eons of life and power to challenge the gods, his mind is still finite and human. That is the ultimate insult—that this being had evolved through time to rival the Q in all but their intelligence. Without his more advanced wives, he would never have known how to even reach the Continuum, but with their knowledge and his power, he not only reached it, he obliterated it.

Her hate spreads to encompass his wives as well. Always they are there, giving him power and guidance. She reaches out to where she senses them, but is harshly rebuffed. She looks back in rage to find Harry setting his chin defiantly.

"It is not their fault," he says. "No more innocents die because of our fight!"

Amanda screams in rage. Below them, the Death Star implodes. It collapses as if crushed by a giant hand, falling into its own hypermatter reactor. The glowing ball of hypermatter, though, remains. Amanda feeds her rage into the elemental bit of power the puny humans have harnessed, and expands it until it is as large again as the Death Star was originally.

Around them, the Rebel and Imperial fleets realize something has gone terribly wrong. Ships huge to human kind but dwarfed by the ball of primordial energy break formation and attempt to leave, but it is too late.

She releases her hold on the hypermatter while at the same time striking out once more against Harry's wives. She forces him to chose, and because his power is housed within a human mind and a human soul, she knows which choice he will make.

He saves his wives while a moon-sized ball of hypermatter reacts with the normal matter of the universe in an explosion that could tear apart stars. The planet of Endor is blasted into dust. Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kyle Katarn—all are vaporized in an instant by the reaction.

Protected by the mage shields of the _Rogue Shadow_, Juno, Mara, Leia, Maris and Celeste watch in horror as millions die in a single flash of light. When the light fades, they see only the platform that once sat atop a tower that once rose from the surface of a battlestation that was now gone.

Amanda looks at Harry with one narrowed eye, while the other flickers with the fire of her rage. "There are no innocents," she snarls at him. "I will burn it all. I will kill everyone. And then I will kill you."

She strikes again, and again Harry somehow blocks her attack. In the distance, the Endor star flashes as its core suddenly, inexplicably collapses. The shockwave of the star's death throes obliterates the entire star system. Harry, and in the _Rogue Shadow, _his wives, watch as the shockwave travels much faster than should have been possible.

She strikes at him again—infuriated by her weakened state and his empowered one. He blocks her blow again, and in the distant night another star goes nova. He does not strike back, for even in her weakened state he knows he cannot kill her. And so he grinds his teeth, ready to do what he must to defend the women he loves, even if it means the lives of a galaxy.

Amanda knows this, and it infuriates hers. She raises both hands, summoning the fabric of the Universe itself. She will destroy him, even if it means destroying creation itself. Before she can strike, though, the _Rogue Shadow_ appears behind Harry. The hatch opens into the pocket of air the two combatants have created.

From the darkness a single figure steps out. Amanda regards the figure and sees the physical perfection of the human female form. Tall, lithe and yet still heavily endowed to entice human men. She moves with the grace of a lifetime of Force training. She has power, though miniscule compared to the two titans.

She steps beside Harry and regards the burning hatred of Amanda Rogers. "The others old me the tale of the Raging Gods," she says in a serene, contralto voice. Even her voice is perfect. "This is she?"

"The last Q," Potter says, as if Amanda is not there. "Weakened by pain and injury, but still the most powerful, wondrous creature in the galaxy."

"And the stars we see dying around us?"

"I have to defend you," Harry says to his fifth and final wife.

Her response shocks Amanda.

"No, Harry, you don't."

Amanda can see that even Harry is shocked by this calm statement. Celeste Morne looks from Mage to Q and back. "I willingly gave my life to save the planet Taris. Now I see you on the verge of obliterating the whole galaxy to defend me. I love you, Harry. Even in only these few days, I have come to love you more than anything. But I would rather see us all dead than trade us for all the life in the stars. You cannot let this fight continue. To save us is selfish, Harry. It is evil. If you save us, you will be doing the one thing that can break the bonds we share. And I will hate you for it."

Harry stares at his wife in shock while she continues to look back at him with a calm, accepting expression. Finally he bows his head, sobbing softly. "You're right," he says. "That's why it had to be you."

He looks back at Amanda. "The Q manipulate time like water. Change it so my horcrux is never found. Let these women lead the lives they should have led, and I will surrender to you. You can kill me or tear me apart molecule by molecule. But without finding me, they will never revert to mage form. Go back and undo this, and I will be yours."

Amanda cannot believe it. At last her vengeance is complete, and the request is so simple. She snaps her fingers, and time is _as it should have been._

She and Harry watch as Professor Yanosh Hastlebrandt pleads his case with a beautiful young Mara Jade in a COMPNOR uniform. "I'm sorry, professor," the red-head says. "The Empire does not provide funds to dig in trash. We cannot help you at this time."

They watch as Darth Vader survives his duel with Galen Marek, though he is weakened by it. They watch as the Dark Lord hunts the Rebels across the galaxy, until at last the Death Star is complete.

"_Use the Force, Luke."_

"_Great shot, kid! That was one in a million!"_

"_I love you."_

"_I know."_

"_I am your father!"_

"_Your overconfidence is your weakness."_

"_Your faith in your friends is yours."_

"_I am a Jedi, like my father before me."_

Darkness. Cold. Emptiness. Harry's runic skin shimmers in the void, but the light does nothing, for there is nothing for it to reflect off of. Save for the burned, terrible visage of Amanda Rogers.

"This is the End of all Things," she says as she drifts closer to him. He can smell her breath; it smells of fire and brimstone and terrible vengeance. She holds up a hand, and there before them both, floats the ancient heartstone of Hogwarts.

"Are you ready to die, Harry Potter? A true and final death?' she asks.

"Yes," Harry said, surprised to find it is the truth. So long, so many lives. He had died so many times he no longer feared it. He was so very tired; the idea of final rest was oddly appealing. "I really am. But before you kill me, Amanda, there is something I must do."

The fire flickers in the socket of her missing eye. "What?" she hisses.

"I have to right one last wrong. Celeste was right. I cannot allow evil to abide. To do so violates my very core. And so I must make whole this last harm."

Before Amanda can respond, Harry leans forward and locks his lips to her. He closes his eyes and pours all of his love and power into her. The same power he would have used to destroy the Death Star he uses now to heal. The bonds that are now broken by the change of time he opens again, latching onto the painfully brilliant power that is the last Q. With the bonds come his love and passion. A hundred thousand and more lifetimes of love and tenderness he pours through the bond into the burning agony of Amanda.

She tries to break away from it, but his power and the bonds hold her in place. And for the first time in a million years, the fires on her body go out. Skin starts to cover the burned and charred limbs. Her left eye suddenly reforms, though it remains closed as the two kiss.

Suddenly he is aware of her body pressing against his, as she is aware of his. She clutches him and wraps her legs around him, even as he enters her. Her skin glows from within and then burns away entirely as her human form collapses, and for the first time in eons a pure Q shines in the universe, only to illuminate nothing.

The runes on Harry's skin flare painfully, and yet he continues to move with the white, amorphous light that is Amanda Rogers. Somehow they continue to make love, sharing energies and lifeforce in a way never conceived. He feels his magic continue to pour into her, even as her own power beings to pour into him. The two form a complete circuit, feeding each other as they reach toward ecstasy.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," Harry says to her as he thrusts into the light that is her true form.

_I forgive you_, she responds. _I give my love you, Harry Potter._

"And I give my love you, Amanda Rogers," he said.

He feels his climax coming, and through the new bonds he shares with her, he knows Amanda is also reaching a climax of its own kind. The climax is agonizing and draining. Both of them scream into the silent void as their energies collide.

_It is time_, Amanda's mind whispers directly to his. _Good bye, my Forever Mage._

"Goodbye, my love."

White light envelopes Harry as Amanda subsumes him, and with a final thrust of power she tears through the walls of the Universe into the Beyond. Harry screams as the walls of existence shatter and two dying universes come together, brought together by the power of the Last Q and the Last Mage fused together as one.

And in that split millisecond, coupled with Amanda and seeing through her mind, Harry realizes that he is not just seeing the death of everything. He is seeing its birth.

"So beautiful," he whispers.

A moment later, all existence collapses down into a two meter wide disk of two million year old stone, before exploding outward in a wave of matter beyond description, and a new Universe is born.

_*mortal actions never deceive the gods_

* * *

**Epilogue: Forever**

A flash of light, and something appears where before there was nothing but an unbroken field of stars. The Orb of light travels smoothly through the vacuum until they come within a few meters of a wall through space.

The wall seems to go on forever to either side, and is carved with massive reliefs of ancient faces. Within the ORB, a lean figure in a full body suit within a intricate and powerful chair says, "Behold the Source Wall. Behind it is the single greatest secret of the Universe. This is as far as I dare to go."

The figure turns and stares at his companion—a tall, broad-chested man with a Romanesque nose and a head shaved so closely it gleamed in the starlight. "I warn you one final time. Only a twelfth-level intellect has the slightest hope of surviving what you are about to experience."

Lex Luthor looks at Metron, his companion, and sneers. "Then I'm over qualified." Without pause, he pushes himself from the chair and beyond the orb of Metron's power. He is not surprised to find air in what should have been vacuum. He calculates his trajectory perfect and floats directly into the eye of the nearest relief.

Within the eye he does not find a tunnel, but rather a matrix of the most astounding energy he has ever seen. He is looking at the Anti-Life Equation itself, and grabs for it, knowing that this is what he needs to stop Darkseid.

The matrix fluctuates and shimmers, and suddenly he is in a white room without definable walls. In what he guesses is the center of the room, Lex sees two figures. He drifts to them and smiles.

A human floats in the air. It is obviously male, given the absence of clothes. He appears to be young, no more than twenty-one if even that. Untamed black hair over a face with a decidedly northern European cast to his cheeks.

"What is this?" he asks.

"This is the Source." He shouldn't be surprised to get an answer. The voice is feminine and soothing.

"_This_ boy is the Source?" Lex scoffs.

"This boy is the First," responds the voice. "He is Forever. He is the Origin. From him came all life, magic and matter. He is the oldest living thing in existence—older even than the Universe itself. But his sleeps has been disturbed. The war of the New Gods troubled his sleeping mind, and now he begins to wake. This is why you are here, Lex Luthor."

"What? Like I'm going to help anyone?"

"In helping yourself, you save many," the voice said. "And in saving many, you will save the Source."

"Like…"

Suddenly Lex finds himself standing on the edge of a crater in the middle of Metropolis. After a moment of disorientation, he sees a sight he's wanted to see his whole life—Superman on the ground, screaming in agony.

Darkseid is giving a soliloquy of how he is going to cut Superman's heart out and put it on a pike. Lex looks down, surprised to see himself dressed in his best suit. He reaches into the lapels and feels his hands touch something warm.

He calls out to Darkseid, one of the most powerful beings in the Universe, and shows him the famed Anti-Life Equation. Darkseid hovers close, enthralled by the light of the most dangerous substance in existence.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Darkseid whispers, much like a father looking upon his first born son.

"Yes," Lex agrees. "It is."

With a flash of light, they are gone. In the aftermath, as Batman helps Superman out of the crater, neither superhero notices the body half-buried under gravel and debris where Lex appeared. A pair of bright green eyes open, and a new epic begins.

But that is another story.

The end.

* * *

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Final Author's Note: I decided to leave the epilogue out of the first one for one very simple reason-I haven't been able to make any progress on the story it implied. Therefore this is apocrypha-a might have been and someday _could be_ but is not at all promised.

Anyway, thanks for reading.


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